If champagne will be a part of your Valentine’s Day, be sure you know how to open it without putting an eye out.

Though it’s very dramatic to “pop the cork” and send it flying across the room, the correct way to open a bottle of champagne is far quieter … and also doesn’t waste any bubbly or put anyone in harm’s way.

Simply point the bottle away from yourself and others. Remove the foil. Cup your hand over the cork or drape a towel over it as you twist open the wire cage. With your hand firmly over the cork, twist the bottle with the other hand. Move the cork back and forth to ease it out of the bottle.

Whatever you do, don’t use a corkscrew — that would spell disaster!

Photo credit: sfllaw

This punch recipe is inspired by the Orange Punch served at Andrew Jackson’s inauguration in 1829, according to Eric Felten of the Wall Street Journal.

It was quite a rowdy crowd, and servers brought out buckets of the punch to lure the revelers out of the White House and on to the lawn.

Serve this to your own Inauguration Day party crowd on Jan. 20.

Inaugural Orange Punch

3 parts fresh orange juice
1 part fresh lemon juice
1 part mulled orange syrup
1 part dark rum
1 part cognac
2 parts soda water

Combine in a punch bowl with a large block of ice. Serve in punch cups with a little crushed ice, and give each glass a dash of Angostura bitters.

Mulled Orange Syrup

Combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water and heat to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Add the peel from an orange and mulling spices (a couple of cinnamon sticks, some whole cloves and allspice berries). After 15 minutes, remove from heat and let it sit for several hours. Strain.

More Inauguration Day cocktail recipes
Having a Ball at the Inauguration, Wall Street Journal

Recently Cointreau show cased some of the cocktails being created with the iconic triple sec. Here’s a few:

Renowned mixologist Xaviar Herit from DANIEL in New York created the “Strawberry & Pearls” cocktail, a traditional strawberry margarita with strawberry infused Cointreau caviar served on the side.

STIX Restaurant and Lounge in Boston takes a traditional champagne cocktail to a new level with the Piper-Heidsieck Golden Cointreau Caviar which includes “pearls” of Cointreau featuring edible 24-karat gold flakes.

Finally Max Restaurant in Connecticut has created the “Champagne and Caviar,” which is a glass of champagne that also includes “pearls” of Cointreau with edible 24-karat gold flakes.

courtesy Cointreau

It is almost New Years Eve, a holiday made for Champagne. What else are you going to toast the New Year with?

Champagne and Sparkling wines are best served chilled in a tall,
tapered champagne flute. Back in the day a wide rounded, almost bowl
like glass was the appropriate glass for severing bubbly. However,
this glass also helped the champagne go flat quickly. Enter the
champagne flute, the narrow opening keeps the bubbles in, while it’s
tall, slender shape highlights their accent to the top.

Champagne / Sparkling Wine Terms

Dry – refers to the sweetness of the Champagne or Sparkling Wine

Brut – a fully dry sparkling wine

Extra Brut - A style of Brut that is even drier

Extra Dry – Actually sweeter than Brut

Beads – The chains of bubbles as they rise to the top of a glass.
The size and shape are used to determine quality if the product.

Champagne Cocktails
Our New Years Sparkling Wine Picks

Champagne cocktails are a festive and fun way to welcome the New Year. Here are a few picks for 2009:

Poire William champagne cocktail
Kentucky Champagne Cocktail
The Happy New Year champagne cocktail
Bada Bing and Happy Hemingway champagne cocktails
Crimson Spice champagne cocktail
Pear and Cranberry Bellini

More champagne cocktail recipes

When it’s time for the champagne toast to celebrate 2009, why start the year by spending a fortune? These three sparkling wines (which is just the term for what most of us call champagne if it is made outside the Champagne region of France) are a good-tasting, budget-friendly way to start the year.

Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs, $20
Made from mostly pinot noir grapes, this sparkling wine is fruity without being too sweet.

Piper Sonoma Brut Select Cuvee, $14
This crisp offering with light citrus notes is a nice way to ring in the New Year.

Sofia Blanc de Blancs, $19
Named for Sofia Coppola, daughter of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, this honey melon sparkling wine is accessible and would be popular with a wide range of guests.

Get a little naughty with these Holiday punches from the folks at X-Rated Fusion Liqueur

X-Rated Holiday Punch

1 750ml bottle (25 oz.) X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
2 bottles pink champagne, chilled
2 six-ounce cans Cranberry juice concentrate
2 six-ounce cans Pink lemonade concentrate
1 qt club soda, chilled
Ice cubes

In large punch bowl, combine cranberry juice concentrate, lemonade concentrate, X-Rated Fusion Liqueur, club soda and champagne. Add ice cubes. Serve immediately. Garnish with slices of lemon.

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