Twists on the Mimosa?

Hey everyone...

We're going to drink mimosas all day over at my Thanksgiving celebration -- I wanted to ask if anyone had a nice brand of Prosecco that they like more than any other? I'm looking to not spend a great deal on the prosecco but I've never bought much of it in the past and don't have any real opinions as to brand.

Also -- I'm going to pick up some juice blends so we can have variety in our mimosa choices -- does anyone have any particular favorites out there? Obviously it's a wide range -- but I'd be interested to hear any opinions.

Shannon

earthlydesire wrote:Hey everyone...

Also -- I'm going to pick up some juice blends so we can have variety in our mimosa choices -- does anyone have any particular favorites out there? Obviously it's a wide range -- but I'd be interested to hear any opinions.

Shannon

I'm not a big Mimosa fan myself, but when I make them with Orangina (lightly carbonated orange drink), they seem to be pretty popular. IIRC, I got this idea from the David Rosengarten Report.

Bill/SFNM

Personally, my twist on the mimosa is to drink a Bellini instead, especially in season when the fruit is available. This recipe has the canonical raspberry puree-- you'd be amazed at how many books and sites leave it out, then still repeat the old line that the name comes from the pinkish color. Not without the raspberry it doesn't....

That said, I tend to use Saracco Moscato d'Asti rather than prosecco-- it's similar, not too strongly bubbly, pretty inexpensive ($10ish) and very easy to find (e.g. Whole Foods).

In the past, I have made Mimosa's with a Grand Marnier float and powdered sugar rim. I thought they were delicious, if a wee bit potent!

Mike G wrote:That said, I tend to use Saracco Moscato d'Asti rather than prosecco-- it's similar, not too strongly bubbly, pretty inexpensive ($10ish) and very easy to find (e.g. Whole Foods).

I tend to use Moscato as well, but it is a bit sweeter. I think it pairs especially well with fresh squeezed juices, as they complement the delicate sweetness in a way a more processed juice does not. Blood orange is a favorite of mine for mimosas. Maybe have some Chambord or Creme de Cassis on hand as well for Kirs? That sounds like the perfect start to Thanksgiving morning to me...

Kristen

Mike G wrote:Personally, my twist on the mimosa is to drink a Bellini instead, especially in season when the fruit is available. This recipe has the canonical raspberry puree-- you'd be amazed at how many books and sites leave it out, then still repeat the old line that the name comes from the pinkish color.

Because of some pinkish tones in the paintings of the quattrocento master?



Hammond

David Hammond wrote:

Mike G wrote:Personally, my twist on the mimosa is to drink a Bellini instead, especially in season when the fruit is available. This recipe has the canonical raspberry puree-- you'd be amazed at how many books and sites leave it out, then still repeat the old line that the name comes from the pinkish color.

Because of some pinkish tones in the paintings of the quattrocento master?

I believe that's just one dirty Bellini. It was not so pink when I saw it at the Accademia.

I appreciate this thread, BTW. Friends have talked me into hosting a Super Bowl brunch this year, which is hilarious because I don't care about football, and I'm not a fan of brunch. I will enjoy cooking though. I'm planning on serving a few mimosa variations TBD.

My two cents:
Basics
-Prosecco is great, and clean. Cava can work wonders, but often has an unpleasant "purple grape-yness". If you are going to use "fixers", or store-bought oj, virtually any light(-tannin) sparkling wine will work. The fewer ingredients, the better they should be individually. W/ fresh-squeezed oj from good thin-skinned oranges, use a champagne you wouldn't be afraid to drink by itself. White Star works well.
-While the consensus is generally that mimosas should be well-chilled, without dilutive ice, my personal preference with fresh orange juice is to use well-chilled crisp champagne and around room temperature oranges. Rolling the oranges by pressing down against a surface before cutting helps release the juices. Some people shortly microwave, which is very effective. (BTW, thick-skinned oranges have that characteristic because they've been spliced onto root stock of grapefruit, changing many things about the oranges themselves, including flavor, but making them more resistant to disease, temperatures, and increasing yield).

Simple fixes
-In my opinion, a mimosa without high quality fresh orange juice should always have the addition of grand marnier or orange blossom water (not triple sec-- bitter, not floral). If you're loathe to actually add the orange blossom water, you can do a martini-esque rinse or simply spritz around the edges of the glass. Zest can work too, in a number of forms, but I'm not such a fan. Otherwise I think of it as a listless cocktail.
-If you're going for bottled, terrific blood orange juice from italian fruits grown on volcanic soil is available at Fox&Obel. Be sure to shake as sediment collects on bottom. Better flavor, however, can be had from fresh clementine oj that has become widely available at some supermarkets in plastic bottles. I forget brand.

Background
-Rule of Thumb: Mimosa = more champagne than oj (3 parts oj to 2champ); Buck's Fizz = more oj than champagne (2oj parts to 1champ) -- Buck's Fizz is the version that may have originally had grenadine/cherry.
Mornings are for Buck's Fizz w/ fresh squeezed, room temp oj and high quality well-chilled champagne, no flute required; brunches are for colder mimosa with grand marnier, flute; evenings are for cold, sassy, sweeter and more complicated mimosa, flute.
-Vitamin C content of orange juice quickly degrades. Exposure to light shortens the span. The blood orange juice is in a glass container, admitting significant light while on the shelf. Paper containers aren't much better. Plastic is awful. Expect the actual nutritive vitamin C content of a given container to be less than half the stated value on the carton -- and the sugars to have degraded as well. (note: vitamin degradation like this holds true for milk as well)
-This process of degradation is part of what makes store-bought orange juice so dramatically inferior, giving it a cloying sweet taste. There are also other processing reasons, though, for the difference in taste, homogeneity, texture and appearance. Grab from the back of the shelf or ask for a container from the stockroom, or just get over it.
-Frozen oj, for this reason, actually tends to have greater nutritive value.


What I like
-What I do is make the orange juice an infusion (before adding champagne), especially for store-bought: pour store-bought blood orange juice into metal bowl and chill; soaking with dried rose hips will add vitamin c, smooth the flavors, add a degree of ... thickness that is difficult to describe (not a change in viscosity but a...); A hint of star anise will give a more complex/complete flavor; A touch of dark honey can be a pleasant help; Dried red hibiscus petals will add a deep red, seeping color that gives flair to the drink while also contributing a slight astringency that pleasantly fends off over-sweetness, but like teas will become too strong if steeps too long. Strain through cheesecloth. Hibiscus and rosehips form a classic herb tea, which itself is better with orange oil, so they make a fitting addition.
-I make a freeze-fast "glue" that in a chilled glass fixes the hibiscus petals at the base of the glass's bulb, forming a flower; after the mimosa has been poured and is sitting in the glass, the colors from the hibiscus will seep upwards decoratively-- if you're worried about maintaining the form of the decoration for a longer period, you can also affix a star anise, a small frozen raspberry, etc. in the middle with the egg-white based glue, and this should help keep the bubbles from displacing everything. For an evening cocktail, I garnish with a couple pink peppercorns which float and can be bitten for a floral heat -- these can also be ground, mixed with sugars, and used to rim the glass.

Alternative
- A nice alternative to mimosas is taking two bottles of champagne, pour into a tall (small top surface to volume) plastic, glass, or other non-reactive container with cut, partially bruised strawberries, pineapple chunks, etc., and let sit for 3-4 hrs. If available, use silver spoon or silver bar stir half-in/half-out of mixture to keep bubbles fresh. Don't be fazed initially by bitterness, espec. w/ cheap sparkling: will become sweeter as sits and steeps. Melon, or most other fruits can also work. Grand Marnier can make a nice addition. You can simply pour from here
--or, for a quicker fix, don't "steep" but rather put in blender, watch closely to stir down champagne bubbles, and add more champagne to mixture on pouring. If you have weirdly flavored vodkas, now's a fine time to use one for a strong punch that no one will see coming -- a friend's forgotten banana vodka was once well-employed. Whole Foods sells containers of cut strawberries layered on top of pineapple that are perfect for this, and this make an easy addition to summer parties. You can also add some B6 vitamin sparkling water, avail. at Whole Paycheck, for an upper-experience (increases people's energy--> great thing for an all day grill-fest in the sun).
-if bitter, add clementine oj or agave nectar (won't fizz). Otherwise, simple syrup (1:1, may fizz), or bar sugar (will fizz)

Garnish
- If straight-forward and fresh, go with none. Garnishes are mostly distracting ornamentation. Some, though, have legitimate contribution (washes and smells such as: fresh, room temp. strawberry; some non-refrigerated, fresh, fragrant orchids at night [nocturnal peculiarity to some orchids]; Toasted orange peel; warmed star anise; pink peppercorn+sugar rims;
- Options/Ideas: fresh strawberry on rim; strawberry section soaked in grand marnier and sugar, sugared (and chilled/frozen optional); orchid; orange blossom/grand marnier wash rim; cherry/grenadine rim; frozen raspberry/blackberry/blueberries, cut and hung on rim; star anise; candied vanilla bean, licorice strip, or mint/bee's balm (can often be made simply by adding semi-moist and whole to container of sugar); sugar rim; sugar+pink peppercorn rim.

As a summer drink, I like to mix equal parts of orange juice and lemonade with champagne. My girlfriend (Indian) like to mix fresh mango juice with her champagne for a brunch drink.

Thyme Cafe (1540 N Milwaukee Ave) had some interesting ones for their Sunday brunch the last time we were there. It was a great deal, $18.95 for brunch and for an extra $6.05, all the mimosas you could drink. They used orange, blueberry, passionfruit, peach nectar, and pineapple juices.