Ric-O-Chet

Alright, champagne cocktail drinkers--here is another beauty! The Ric-O-Chet is a lot like a Death In The Afternoon, in that it is a sparkling cocktail with a ton of herbal flavored and grape-based spirits in it. It's almost a drink designed to display the color of the spirits and present an interesting form of glassware for consuming something that pretty much tastes like absinthe. It will also kick your butt and make you quite tired if you make it part of your day drinking routine.

The recipe calls for cognac, and there is almost no reason to use a high quality spirit. But since I didn't have any cheap cognac, I opted for my pricey armagnac by Larressingle. I'd like to say that this was a good move, but a lot of the subtlety of armagnac is lost behind the anise and licorice of Ricard. If anything, the cognac is there to spread that flavor around and make the Ricard a little more rich.

One key to this drink (and any restaurant bartender who tries this by reducing the liquor content by half in order to be sold legally in most states) is to build the drink with the cognac and Ricard in the glass first and add ice to chill it. This allows the herbs in the Ricard to express out and create a cloudy caramel visual effect. Remove the ice with a spoon and top with the champagne and stir.

• 1 oz. cognac (Larressingle armagnac used)
• 1 1/2 oz. Ricard
• sparkling wine or champagne

Add Ricard and cognac to a chilled champagne flute and stir to chill. Remove the ice with a spoon and top with sparkling wine or champagne and stir gently.