Mimosa

How to make:

POUR half the champagne into ice-filled glass (preferably a chunk of block ice), then POUR orange juice and finally the rest of the champagne.

Garnish:

Orange zest twist (discarded) & orange slice

Comment:

Great when made with freshly squeezed orange juice, this cocktail is very similar to the Buck's Fizz, which tends to have a higher proportion of Champagne. Also see the Grand Mimosa, basically the same drink charged with orange liqueur.

Variant:

When made with mandarin juice this becomes a Puccini.

About:

Thought to have been created in 1925 by Frank Meier at the Ritz Hotel in Paris and named after the Mimosa tropical flowering shrub, Acacia dealbata - perhaps because of its trembling leaves, rather like the gentle fizz of this mixture.

The cocktail made its print debut in Frank Meier's 1936 book, The Artistry of Mixing Drinks titled "Mimosa or Champage Orange" with the instruction, "In large wineglass, a piece of ice, the juice of one-half Orange; fill with Champagne stir and serve."

In his 1948 Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, David A. Embury writes of this drink, "Just another freak champagne mixture. It is not half bad and the ladies usually like it. Use a good quality domestic champagne, medium dry."