Craft the Best 10 New Year’s Eve Party Cocktails with Vermouth and Champagne

2020 is almost over, and we are ready to welcome 2021. Change out of your sweatpants, dress up in something nice, put on your dancing shoes, and toast the coming vaccine and new year with savory, uplifting, and delicious cocktails.

Here are 10 fabulous New Year’s Eve cocktails that will have you dancing until dawn! These 10 combine the year’s best cocktail mixer, vermouth, with New Year’s quintessential beverage, Champagne.

The Martellotto Semi-Secco Bianco Vermouth is a delicious late harvest Sauvignon Blanc from Happy Canyon blended with a proprietary blend of distilled grape spirits steeped in botanicals, herbs, citrus rinds, and cinchona.

The perfect mixer, this off-dry white, herbal wine is also great over ice with a twist of lemon or lime. Make a thirst-quenching spritz or add it to your favorite cocktail recipes.

It pairs well with olives, nuts, cheese and crackers, or fresh seafood. Keep it in your refrigerator for up to three months after opening.

Notes: If your recipe calls for club soda, use Champagne instead, dry or sweet, depending on your taste. You can use Prosecco or Cava, but this New Year’s Eve begs for the real deal. Experiment with different bitters or vermouths, instead.

French Bellini

Giuseppe Cipriani made the Bellini famous in 1948 at Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy. The drink’s color reminded Cipriani of the Italian Renaissance painter Giovanni Bellini. Use Champagne, not Prosecco.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces of your favorite puree (peach, pear, etc.)
• 1 1/2 ounces Martellotto Semi-Secco Bianco Vermouth
• 2 ounces Champagne

Directions:
Pour the puree into Champagne flutes. Gently add the vermouth and then the Champagne, stirring slightly to blend.

Americano and Friends

Gasper Campari created the Americano to serve in his Caffè Campari bar in Turin in the 1860s.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounces Campari
• 1 1/2 ounces Martellotto Semi-Secco Bianco Vermouth
• 2 ounces Champagne

Garnish with any citrus twist

Directions:
Mix equal parts vermouth and Campari over ice, top with the Champagne, and garnish with the citrus twist.

French - American 75

Bartender Harry MacElhone gifted the French 75 to Paris at the New York Bar there (later named Harry’s New York Bar.) This World War I era cocktail delivered the impact of a French 75mm field gun to the unwary drinker. Our version replaces gin with vermouth.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounces Martellotto Semi-Secco Bianco Vermouth
• 1/2 ounce simple syrup
• 1/2 ounce lemon juice
• 3 ounces Champagne

Directions:
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes, then add the vermouth, simple syrup, and lemon juice. Shake well and strain into chilled Champagne flutes. Gently pour the Champagne filling the glass. Don’t strain the ice out if you want to reduce the impact!

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Donna Delicata

Antonio Benedetto Carpano invented vermouth in Turin in 1786, from white wine, local herbs, and spirits. He thought women would prefer the liquor to the local red wine! This is our take on Carpano and Soda.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces Martellotto Semi-Secco Bianco Vermouth
• 3 ounces Champagne
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• 1 sprig mint

Directions:
Fill a highball glass with ice, pour the vermouth and the bitters, then fill with Champagne. Garnish with the spring of mint.

Port Raspberry Spritz

Stay warm and bubbly with a port-based spritz-like cocktail.

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce port wine
• 1 ounce Martellotto Semi-Secco Bianco Vermouth
• 1 ounce raspberry puree
• 3 ounces Champagne

Directions:
Blend port wine, vermouth, and raspberry puree in a wine glass filled with ice. Fill glass with Champagne and garnish with raspberries.

Lita Grey Vermouth

A classic 50’s style cocktail (referencing Charlie Chaplin and his wife, Lita) that blends sloe gin and apricot liqueur. The Champagne keeps it festive, the vermouth keeps it lighter.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 ounce of each of the following:
• Martellotto Semi-Secco Bianco Vermouth
• sloe gin
• apricot liqueur
• lime juice
• 2 ounces Champagne

Directions:
Add ice, vermouth, sloe gin, apricot liqueur, and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker. Shake well, then strain into a highball or martini glass and top with Champagne.

Blackberry/Anise Champagne Cocktail

This cocktail hails from the New Orleans restaurant Herbsaint, named after the anise-flavored liqueur from the Sazerac Company. Our version adds a bit of vermouth for added complexity.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounce Martellotto Semi-Secco Bianco Vermouth
• 1/2 teaspoon blackberry liqueur
• 3 or 4 drops of Herbsaint liqueur (or other anise liqueur)
• 3 ounces Champagne

Directions:
Add the vermouth, Campari, and puree to a highball glass. Gently stir to blend, then add the Champagne.

New Year’s Eve Old Fashioned

A classic old fashion muddles sugar and bitters, then adds water and whiskey. Garnishes include oranges or maraschino cherries. We lighten it up with vermouth and Champagne.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon simple syrup
• 2 dashes of Angostura bitters
• 1 ounce Martellotto Semi-Secco Bianco Vermouth
• 2 ounces bourbon
• 2 ounces Champagne

Directions:
Mix the simple syrup, bitters, vermouth, and bourbon in a highball glass with ice. Top with Champagne.

Black Silk

The Black Velvet, a combination of Guinness and sparkling wine, dates back to the age of Queen Victoria. The 1861 death of her husband, Prince Albert, inspired it. Our version will keep the guys happy all night.

Ingredients:

• Guinness
• 2 ounces Champagne
• 2 ounces Martellotto Semi-Secco Bianco Vermouth

Directions:

Pour the vermouth in a Champagne flute, then carefully add the Champagne to reduce the foam. Hold a spoon upside down over the flute and slowly pour the Guinness over the spoon, drizzling it into the glass. Traditionally, the Black Velvet is served in a beer tankard.

 

Bye-Bye 2020 Punch

If you don’t want to spend the night making cocktails, prepare a batch of punch and relax.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Martellotto Semi-Secco Bianco Vermouth
• 1 cup Cognac
• 1/2 cup orange liqueur
• 2 cups cranberry juice
• 2 cups orange juice
• 2 bottles Champagne
• Sparkling water to taste

Directions:
Combine the vermouth, cognac, orange liqueur, orange, and cranberry juices. Chill overnight or for a few hours before serving. When ready to serve, add Champagne, sparkling water, and ice. Garnish with herbs, fruit, citrus, or flowers.

BONUS Cocktail: The Secret Weapon

Want a cocktail to blow 2020 clean away? Greg Martellotto’s Secret Weapon cocktail is the one for you.

Ingredients:

• Equal parts of:
• Martellotto Semi-Secco Bianco or Pio Cesare Vermouth
• Extra Anejo Tequila or Bourbon
• Sweet Red Vermouth
• Dash of Angostura bitters

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all ingredients and stir continuously for 1 minute. Strain into a highball glass and rub the rim with lemon peel. If you are feeling brave, splash a bit of Champagne on top.

Champagne plus Martellotto Semi-Secco Bianco Vermouth: the happiest combination for New Year’s Eve cocktails!

We challenge you to create the most intriguing Champagne and vermouth cocktails for New Year’s Eve. Post your favorites on our social media channels!