Mimosa

The Mimosa is barely a cocktail and entirely a ritual: equal parts cold sparkling wine and orange juice, poured into a flute. Commonly credited to the Paris Ritz around 1925 — though the attribution is contested (Frank Meier's 1934 Ritz book does not mark the mimosa as his invention, and competing claims trace the drink to 1940s San Francisco) — and named for the pale-yellow blossom it resembles, it has been the official drink of brunch for a hundred years.

Two Ingredients, Done Right

With only two components and no technique to hide behind, quality is everything. The orange juice should be freshly squeezed — cartoned juice is too sweet and too flat, and it drags the drink down.

The wine does not need to be expensive, but it must be properly dry and properly cold. A crisp, inexpensive brut or cava is ideal; save the good Champagne for a glass on its own.

Build, Don't Stir

Pour the orange juice first, then the wine slowly on top — adding wine to juice preserves far more of the bubbles than the reverse. Do not stir; let it settle on its own.

Equal parts is the standard, but the ratio is yours to tune: more wine for something drier and more spirited, more juice for something gentler. A twist of orange is all the garnish it needs.

Variations