Naartjie-Paloma cocktail with Champagne đĽ
- Aug 17, 2021
- 1 min read
Itâs my sisterâs second lockdown birthday so in her absent honour, I have decided to make her a đĽ
Naartjie-Paloma cocktail with Champagne đĽ
Get together a lemon, a naartjie, some tequila, rosemary sprigs, lemon syrup, glasses, ice and MCC or Champagne
⢠Squeeze the naartjie like a lemon to juice it
⢠Pour naartjie juice into a cup or glass or fancy bar shaker, add some ice blocks (about 6 will do) and a tablespoon of lemon syrup
⢠Pour two tots (approx 50ml) of tequila over the ice as well and stir this leisurely to allow enough melt and release some flavour and dilute the tequila somewhat
⢠Put a rosemary sprig in each glass and a small thin lemon (you can also use lime) wedge
⢠Pour this mix through a strainer, sieve, or just take the ice out and divide equally between the two garnished glasses
⢠Get the bubbly out the fridge and ready to open - perhaps move to the lawn, and if you have a sword and it warrants a Sabrage-opening ask all kids and dogs to stand clear⌠đĄ
SMALL TIPâŚ
**Do not open the bubbly over your wooden cabinet bar, if it sprays you have to stop and clean everything to save the antique wooden shelvesâŚ
(donât think messing like this is very French, might be more Mexican! Do not slurp the champagne off the shelf even if you feel like it đ¤Śđťââď¸đ¤Š)
⢠Top the glasses up with the bubbles, give a nice stir, find someone to hold the other glass, and in your best French say âbonne santĂŠâ - to good health đž đĽł
This feels like the ideal âlockdown birthdayâ drink because itâs celebratory without being fussy â you can basically build it with whatâs around. The naartjie + rosemary combo is also giving me total âlate afternoonâ vibes, almost like the kind of color mood boards Iâve seen on StyleLookLab where everything skews warm and fresh. Definitely stealing the strainer step so I donât end up chewing ice and citrus pulp.
Rosemary in the glass is such a nice touch â it makes the whole thing smell fancy before you even take a sip. Weird tangent but the citrus color palette here (naartjie + lemon) is so pretty it made me think of those âsoftâ illustration looks like my favorite ghibli ai styles â same warm, sunny vibe. Now Iâm wondering if a grapefruit twist would push it too far or actually work.
The practical details are what make this actually doable â like stirring long enough to mellow the tequila before topping up with bubbles. I also appreciate the very specific âkids and dogs stand clearâ warning; it reads like lived experience, the same way random little notes pop up when youâre browsing https://hrefgo.com and people mention the one thing that can go wrong. Iâm going to try it with lime next time since thatâs what I usually have.
The lawn + âbonne santĂŠâ vibe is honestly the best part â it reads like a little ritual rather than just a drink. Also, ânaartjie-paloma with champagneâ feels like a coded message at first glance, which made me think of CaesarCipher for some reason. Iâm curious: do you prefer MCC here because itâs drier, or just because itâs what you usually have chilled?
I tried a Paloma-ish combo once and the big difference was doing a slow stir like you describe instead of shaking it to death â the dilution ends up way nicer. The âdonât sabrage over the cabinetâ note made me think of the chaos-energy of BlockBlast when one wrong move ruins an otherwise perfect run. Now I want to try this with a tiny pinch of salt on the rim too.