Naartjie-Paloma cocktail with Champagne š„
- Aug 17, 2021
- 1 min read
Itās my sisterās second lockdown birthday so in her absent honour, I have decided to make her a š„
Naartjie-Paloma cocktail with Champagne š„
Get together a lemon, a naartjie, some tequila, rosemary sprigs, lemon syrup, glasses, ice and MCC or Champagne
ā¢ Squeeze the naartjie like a lemon to juice it
ā¢ 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
ā¢ 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
ā¢ Put a rosemary sprig in each glass and a small thin lemon (you can also use lime) wedge
ā¢ Pour this mix through a strainer, sieve, or just take the ice out and divide equally between the two garnished glasses
ā¢ 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 clearā¦ š”
SMALL TIPā¦
**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 shelvesā¦
(donāt 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 š¤¦š»āāļøš¤©)
ā¢ Top the glasses up with the bubbles, give a nice stir, find someone to hold the other glass, and in your best French say ābonne santĆ©ā - to good health š¾ š„³
This feels like the ideal ālockdown birthdayā drink because itās celebratory without being fussy ā you can basically build it with whatās around. The naartjie + rosemary combo is also giving me total ālate afternoonā vibes, almost like the kind of color mood boards Iāve seen on StyleLookLabĀ where everything skews warm and fresh. Definitely stealing the strainer step so I donāt end up chewing ice and citrus pulp.
Rosemary in the glass is such a nice touch ā 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 āsoftā illustration looks like my favorite ghibli ai stylesĀ ā same warm, sunny vibe. Now Iām wondering if a grapefruit twist would push it too far or actually work.
The practical details are what make this actually doable ā like stirring long enough to mellow the tequila before topping up with bubbles. I also appreciate the very specific ākids and dogs stand clearā warning; it reads like lived experience, the same way random little notes pop up when youāre browsing https://hrefgo.comĀ and people mention the one thing that can go wrong. Iām going to try it with lime next time since thatās what I usually have.
The lawn + ābonne santĆ©ā vibe is honestly the best part ā it reads like a little ritual rather than just a drink. Also, ānaartjie-paloma with champagneā feels like a coded message at first glance, which made me think of CaesarCipherĀ for some reason. Iām curious: do you prefer MCC here because itās drier, or just because itās 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 ā the dilution ends up way nicer. The ādonāt sabrage over the cabinetā note made me think of the chaos-energy of BlockBlastĀ 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.