Savoy Affair Recipe: Champagne with Strawberry and Peach

Ingredients

4 oz champagne well chillede.g. Moët & Chandon · Veuve Clicquot · Taittinger · Laurent-Perrier · Pommery
¼ oz peach schnappse.g. Archers · DeKuyper · Bols · Giffard
¼ oz strawberry liqueure.g. Giffard · Bols · Marie Brizard · Berentzen
¼ oz passion fruit juice
¼ oz lime juice freshly squeezed
1 tsp sugar for the rim

Garnish: Sugar rim and sugared strawberry · Ice: Served up, no ice

Method

Rub a lime wedge around the rim of a chilled coupe and dip it into caster sugar.
Pour peach schnapps, strawberry liqueur, passion fruit juice and lime juice into the glass and swirl gently.
Top slowly with well-chilled Champagne, pouring down the side of the glass to keep the bubbles.
Garnish with a strawberry dipped in sugar and serve at once.

Watch it made

Savoy Affair

Taste

Light and fizzy with ripe peach and strawberry, a tart passion fruit edge and a crisp, dry finish from the Champagne. Moderately strong, similar to a glass of sparkling wine.

History and origin

The Savoy Affair is a modern member of the Champagne cocktail family, the long line of drinks that start with sparkling wine and add a small measure of liqueur, juice or bitters. Its fruit-forward build with peach and strawberry liqueurs points to the late twentieth century, when flavoured liqueurs filled back bars and bubbly drinks were dressed up with sugar rims and fresh berries.

No reliable record ties the drink to a particular bartender or to the famous Savoy Hotel in London, despite the name. Treat it as a well-composed party serve rather than a historic classic: easy to build, bright, and a good use for a bottle of dry sparkling wine.

Bartender tips

Use a brut or extra brut sparkling wine; the liqueurs bring enough sweetness.
Chill every component, including the liqueurs, so you need no ice and the fizz lasts longer.
Only sugar the outer rim so the sugar does not drop into the drink.

Variations

Prosecco Affair: Use Prosecco instead of Champagne for a softer, fruitier and more affordable version.
Alcohol-free twist: Replace the liqueurs with strawberry syrup and peach nectar and top with alcohol-free sparkling wine.