Ingredients
6 fresh blackberries
1 oz ruby port
0.5 oz St. Germaine Elderflower liqueur
4 oz Champagne or dry sparkling wine
Garnish: blackberry & orange twist
Glass: Champagne flute
Method
Place 5 to 6 fresh blackberries in a mixing glass. With a cocktail muddler (or a utensil with a firm and flat base), press the blackberries with a firm yet gentle motion. Muddling fruit extracts the juice and releases the fresh flavours and a vibrant colour. To the pressed blackberries, add 1 ounce of ruby port and ½ ounce of St. Germain (a floral French elderflower liqueur). Add a squeeze of fresh lemon.
Fill the glass with ice and cap with a shaker. Close firmly and shake vigorously to chill.
To strain this mixture, use a tea strainer to finely filter out the seeds and remaining pieces of muddled fruit. This technique is also known as double straining. Use one strainer against mouth the shaker, and the fine strainer above the glass – pour the shaken cocktail into a champagne flute.
Top off the cocktail with sparkling wine. When sparkling wine meets fruit juice, it becomes especially effervescent. Pour slowly to prevent the bubbly from overflowing. A bar spoon with a spiralling stem will help control the speed of the rising froth.
Garnish with more fresh berries.