Announcing the Top 20 Entries from the Le
Grand Courtâge x Chilled Cocktail

The *POP* of the cork is the universal sound of happiness and Sparkling Wine is an extremely versatile cocktail ingredient as the bubbles add a nice textural element with the effervescence, and the acidity offers a great balance point. Our price and palate make Le Grand ​Courtâge perfect for cocktails.

We wanted the creation to embody the French spirit of Joie de Vivre and live joyously as we are about elevating and celebrating every day! We spent the last few months collecting recipes from bartenders and mixologists all over America to see who embodied the spirit of Le Grand Courtâge the best.

A special Merci Beaucoup to everyone who entered! Stay Tuned on our socials for our next Competition/Contest & other exciting news!

Showcasing the Top 20 Live Joyously Sparkling Cocktail Contest Entries

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#LGCLiveJoyously

Je Ne Sais Quoi – Dallas Juanes

• .75 oz Cognac (Caymus Borderies or similar)
• .75 oz Amaro Agelino
• .75 oz Rosé Fig Simple Syrup*
• .75 oz Lemon
• 1 dash of Addition Rosemary Bitters
• 2oz Le Grand Courtâge Brut Rosé

Preparation: Add all ingredients except for the rosé into your shaker tin and roll the tin to incorporate the contents. Strain into a collins glass top with ice and finish with the Le Courtâge Brut Rosé to finish the drink. Garnish with a stick of rosemary picked with figs dehydrated lemon and a seasonal flower. *Rosé and Fig Simple:  2 cup Le Grand Courtâge Brut Rosé 2 cups sugar 2 cups figs.  In a small saucepan add the rosé and dates and slowly bring up to summer. Reduce by 1/3. Strain figs out and return to saucepan. Add sugar and let cool. 2 weak shelf life in the fridge.

Perfect Pearing – Steven Huddleston

• 1.5 oz Le Grand Courtage Brut
• .5 oz Bacardi Superior
• .5 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao
• 2 oz Pear Juice
• .5 oz Autumn Syrup
• .5 oz Super Lime Juice

Preparation: Shaken Autumn Syrup: 3 Madagascar Vanilla Beans Split paste removed & added to 12oz of water along with beanstalk 12oz of sugar & 14g of allspice. Put on a simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and strain using fine shimwa. Super Lime Juice: 20 grams of fresh lime peels 6.66g of malic acid 13.33g of citric acid steeped in peels. Add 333g of water and Lime juice from peel limes. Blend acid oleo lime juice and water together. Strain through fine mesh shimwa. Clarification: Add the entire cocktail excluding Le Grand to a cambro with cold whole milk. Lightly stir to incorporate. Let sit for 2-3 hours or until separation occurs. Gravity Stain 3 times through the coffee filter. The whey from the milk clarification adds a beautiful texture element. Garnish: 1/4 Dehydrated Pear Slice & Freshly Grated Cinnamon Combine & Enjoy.

Pearadise – Aaron Joseph

• 4 oz Le Grand Courtage Blanc de Blanc
• 1.5 oz St George Terroir Gin
• .75 oz Fresh Lime Juice
• .5 oz Pineapple Juice (fresh)
• 1.25  oz Spiced Pear Syrup( Pear Juice Sugar Cardamon Clove Ginger Vanilla

Preparation: Serve in Ice Filled Collins Glass Garnish Clove studded Pear Slices and Dehydrated Pineapple Slice Instructions Place Gin, Lime Juice, Spiced Pear Syrup, and Ice into a mixing tin. Cap tins and shake vigorously. Strain the Cocktail into Collins Glass. Add Le Grand Coutage Blanc de Blanc and filled with Ice. Garnish with Pear Studded slices of Pineapple Slice. Enjoy! *Spiced Pear Syrup: 1.5 cup Pear Juice , .5 cups granulated sugar .5 tablespoon Cardamon 4-5 Cloves .5 tablespoon chopped and fresh Ginger .5 tablespoon of vanilla extract .Combine in a saucepan cooking until sugar dissolves, and then simmer on very low for 15 minutes. Cool and strain out spices.

Strawberry Moon – Jon Mateer

• .5 oz London Dry Gin
• .5 oz Manzanilla Sherry
• .25 oz Cardamaro
• .5 oz Lemon Juice
• 1oz Strawberry & Pink Peppercorn Syrup
• 4 oz top with Le Grand Courtage’s Blanc

Preparation: Combine the Gin Sherry Cardamaro Lemon & Strawberry/Peppercorn Syrup into a tin and shake with ice until diluted. Strain into an empty collins glass. Fill with pebble ice. Then top with the sparkling Le Grand Courtage Blanc de Blanc Brut. Mound pebble ice. Then garnish with a strawberry slice and mint bouquet. Strawberry Peppercorn Syrup:  Combine 300g fresh cut strawberries and 20g of crushed pink peppercorns with 1000g of Simple Syrup in a vacuum-sealed bag. – Sous vide the contents at 135 degrees for 120 minutes. – Remove from sous vide and chill to room temperature. – Strain the mixture with a chinois or coffee filter. – Label the date and refrigerate until needed for use. Stores for up to two weeks.

Star of Autumn – Christina Mercado

• 1.5 oz Hard Cider (local ideal otherwise canned like these options)
• 1 oz local apple cider
• 0.5 oz autumn syrup*
• 1 oz soda water
• 2.5 oz Le Grand Courtage Blanc de Blanc

Preparation: Build all ingredients into a wine glass with ice and stir for 5 seconds gently to combine – garnish with an apple chip to serve! Autumn Syrup recipe: 20 oz brown sugar 3 cinnamon sticks 1/2 tsp ginger powder 1/4 tsp allspice powder 1 vanilla bean 8 oz orange juice 6 oz water – bring all ingredients to a boil – let cool then strain – keep in an airtight container and refrigerate until use.

Romancing The Stone – Christopher Day

• 30mL (1oz) Cognac (Francois Voyer VS or similar)
• 15mL (0.5oz) Giffard Abricot Rusillon
• 8mL (~0.25oz) Honey Syrup (3:1)
• 15mL (0.5oz) Lemon Juice
• 90mL (~3oz) Le Grand Courtâge Blanc de Blancs

Preparation: Build all but Le Grand Courtâge into a shaker tin and shake thoroughly with ice. Pour 3 oz of Le Grand Courtâge Blanc de Blancs into narrow collins or rocks glass and strain the tin into the glass to let mix. Fill with cracked or pebble ice and garnish with a dried apricot skewered with rosemary.

Fig & Rose 75 – Robert Chavez

• 1 .5 oz Citadelle Gin de France
• .5 oz L’Epicerie de Provence Fig Syrup
• .5 oz L’Epicerie de Provence Rose Syrup
• .5 oz Fresh Lemon juice

Preparation: Combine the first 4 ingredients into a shaker;  Add ice to the tin Shake for 10 seconds and double strain into a Coupe glass.  Add 4 drops of bitters to the strained cocktail and top with Champagne. 4 drops Scrappy’ New Orleans bitters 3 oz Le Grand Courtage Rose Brut. Garnish with 3 sliced Figs White Rose and 24 ct Gold Edible Gold flakes.

Joy Broker – Alex Taylor

• 1 oz. Probitas Rum
• .25 oz. Bigallet Thym Liqueur
• .75 oz. Strawberry-Pink Peppercorn Syrup*
• 1 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice Strained
• 3 Dashes King Floyd’s Ginger Bitters
• 3 oz. Le Grand Courtâge Brut Rosé

Preparation: Combine all ingredients except brut rose in a shaker tin; vigorously shake for 12-15 seconds. Fine strain into a snifter (in which a standard-sized ice ball has been placed). Top with Brut Rosé and give a quick stir to integrate the ingredients. Garnish with Trimmed Lemon Peel Strawberry Edible Orchid. Serve and enjoy.

A Little Peach & Quiet – Tara Gillum

• .75 oz Cognac (Caymus Borderies or similar)
• .5 oz The Botanist Gin
• .5 oz Grand Marnier
• 1 oz Peach and Rosemary Shrub
• 4 oz Le Grand Courtage Brut

Preparation: Start by making your shrub. For this cocktail, I have made a Peach Rosemary Shrub. Add 1 cup of apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup of sugar 1 sprig of rosemary and 1 cup of peach preserves. Cook all of the ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat stirring often and until all of the ingredients are incorporated. Use a fine strainer to remove the hard particles and store them in an air-tight container. To build the cocktail start with ice in your Boston shaker and add The Botanist Grand Mariner and the shrub to it and shake. Then strain the liquid into a champagne flute and top it with Le Grand Courtage Brut. Garnish with a peach rose skewered with rosemary.

Bubble Of Peace – Marie Yoshimizu

• ~2 oz Le Grand Courtage Brut Rose
• 1 oz Genever
• .25 oz Concord Grape Shrub*
• .25 oz Apricot Liqueur
• .25 oz Sage-Elderflower syrup**
• .75 oz Hibiscus Tea (room temperature or chilled)
• A few dashes of rose water

Preparation: Garnish with sage and dehydrated rose  Combine all ingredients except for the Brit Rose and garnish in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir until chilled.  Strain into a champagne coupe.  Garnish with a dehydrated rose and sage leaf *Concord Grape Shrub: Muddle .5 cup of Concord grapes in a bowl. Add .75 cup of sugar and stir to combine. Let it sit in a jar for at least 24 hours. Strain the muddle grapes with a fine mesh cloth in a bowl and discard the grapes. Add .5  cup of white wine vinegar and stir to combine. Transfer into a jar to store it in a fridge or use it in cocktails.

Everything Changes – Timmie Hoffman

• 1 oz of a dry botanical gin ( I used mother earth gin)
• .5 oz of acid-adjusted orange juice (4% citric acid by weight)
• 1 tablespoon of homemade pumpkin pie spiced butternut squash maple syrup
• 1 egg white
• 1.75 oz  Le Grand Courtâge Blanc de Blancs Brut 

Preparation: All into a shaker and dry shake and then add about a cup of ice and shake again. Double strain into a stemmed glass and top with 1.5 oz of Le Grand Courtage Blanc to Blanc and topped with a dash of cinnamon and served with a side of Le Grand Blanc to Blanc. Homemade Pumpkin pie spiced butternut squash Maple syrup: I took a cup of diced butternut and 2 tablespoons of butter and simmered until the butter was browned and the squash was soft (about 20-25 minutes) Then I added a half cup of maple syrup simmered for 5 minutes and macerated into a jam like consistency.

Grow a Pear – Leah Dufresne

• .75 oz. Chicken Cock Bourbon
• .5 oz. Marie Brizard Pear
• .5 oz. Stambecco tiramisu
• .5 oz. fresh lemon juice
• 2 oz. Le Grand Courtage Blanc de Blanc

Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice (excluding prosecco) shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass top with 2 oz. Le Grand Courtage Blanc de Blanc. Garnish candied pear sugared geode.

Happy-Go-Lychee – Ginny Lanndt

• 1 oz pisco
• .25 oz Chareau aloe liqueur
• .25 oz lychee liqueur
• .75 oz lime juice
• .5 oz rose petal syrup
• 1 .5 oz Le Grand Courtâge Brut rosé to top

Preparation: Shake all but wine with ice and strain into a chilled coupe with cucumber ribbon then top with wine. Add cucumber and lychee garnish.

Joy To The Pearled – Tim Weigel

• 6 raspberries (muddled)
• .75 oz Ube Syrup*
• .5 oz Avua prata cachaça
• 3 oz Grand Courtage sparkling rosé

Preparation: Muddle the raspberries and add the remaining ingredients (except the GC sparkling rose). Shake with ice and add the Grand Courtage sparkling rose. Double strain over fresh ice inside of a crystal rocks glass. Garnish with lime wheel topped with some raspberry cocktail caviar. Ube syrup: mix a 1:1 simple syrup with ube puree and allow to mix. Strain the syrup.

Le Liberté – J.A.Harrison

• 1.5 oz Le Grand Courtâge Rosé
• .5 oz Gin Mûre by Rachel Reed of Reed & Co
• .25 oz Gin Liqueur by Nicola Nice of Pomp & Whimsy
• .75 oz Abyss Navy Strength Gin by Heather Manley of Crooked Water
• .25 oz Crème de Framboise by Edith Giffard of Giffard
• .75 oz lemon juice
• .5 oz Heirloom melon/Le Grand Courtage syrup*

Preparation: Juice heirloom melons (I sourced Piel de Sapo heirloom melons locally). Combine 1 part melon juice with 1 part Le Grand Courtâge Blanc and 2 parts sugar and stir together to combine heating gently on the stovetop as necessary to incorporate Add all liquid ingredients in a highball glass over crushed ice and swizzle to incorporate garnish with a dusting of red currant powder and serve.

Le Reveur – Danniel Keaveney

• 1oz Plantation OFTD Rum
• .5 oz Strawberry Syrup (.5 cup sugar .5 cup water cook until dissolved. Blend with an immersion blender. Strain with a fine mesh strainer)
• .5 oz Lemon Juice
• .5 oz Dry Orange Curaçao

Preparation: Shake with ice Double Strain into champagne flute Add 4-5 dashes of Fee Brothers Peach Bitters Fill with Le Grand Courtâge Brute Rose. Garnish the champagne flute by painting on some Strawberry syrup and placing lemon Zest on the glass.

Seaside Joy – Daniel Friedman

• 1 .5 oz Le Grand Courtage Blanc De Blancs Brut
• 1 oz White Rum (Flor de Cana extra seco)
• 1 oz Hibiscus-infused Honey
• .5 oz Giffard Fruit De La Passion
• .75 oz Lemon juice
• Pineapple coconut milk foam
• Angostura bitters swirl

Preparation: Combine rum lemon hibiscus honey and passion fruit liqueur in a shaker. Shake with ice for 9 seconds. Fine strain into a rocks glass with a large cube. Add brut to cocktail then top with pineapple coconut milk foam. Place 4 drops of angostura bitters on the foam and swirl. Garnish with bamboo leaves and orchids. Enjoy! Pineapple coconut milk foam: add one can (13.5oz) of unsweetened coconut milk and 2oz of Reál pineapple syrup to an ISI whipper charge and shake well. Hibiscus-infused honey: Make hibiscus tea by boiling 1 cup of loose hibiscus in 2 cups of water for 5 minutes or until deep ruby red. Add 64 grams of hibiscus tea for every 100 grams of wildflower honey.

Sugar, Spice & Orange You Nice. – Nadine Madina

• 1.25 oz All Spice Dram
• .5 oz Dry Curacao
• Top with Brut

Preparation: Shake the first 2 ingredients til well chilled with ice in a shaker tin. Pour into a 5-ounce champagne tulip glass. Top with Le Grand Courtage Brut. Garnish; Orange candy drizzle with dark chocolate edible gold paint and 24-karat gold leaf.

This That Glitter….Is! – Nicole Salicetti

• 1.25 oz *salted butter croissant fat-washed vodka
• .5 oz fresh Meyer lemon juice
• .75 oz *green apple syrup
• 2 oz Le Grand Courtage Brut Champagne
• 3 dashes of grapefruit bitters

Preparation: Put a small amount of edible cocktail glitter into the champagne coupe prior to pouring the cocktail in. Put all ingredients less champagne into a shaker and shake with plenty of ice. Strain into a coupe and stir so that glitter swirls in the glass. Top with champagne and lay a glass apple gently on side of the glass. How to make homemade ingredients: *Salted butter croissant fat-washed vodka: soak one buttery croissant (86 g) into 200g of vodka (I chose Grey Goose) and .5 tsp salt. Let sit for 90 minutes and then remove the croissant from the liquid and place the vodka in the freezer. Gently separate the fat solids and strain the remaining liquid through coffee filters to get the final product. *Green apple syrup: juice enough green Granny Smith apples to yield 168g. Mix that juice with .6g of citric acid. Blend that mixture at room temperature on high speed for 5 minutes with 336g of sugar. *Glittered Gold Glass Apple garnish: slice green apples with a mandolin to 2.5 mm and place them in a lemon water bath. Then place slices on Silpat on a baking tray and place another tray on top. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 205°. Remove from heat and remove the top tray. Place back in the oven at reduced heat for 60 minutes more at 175°. Remove from oven and let sit for an hour. Make caramel syrup by combining 70g water and 200g sugar over heat in a pot adding 5g vinegar and 37g glucose stirring until boiling begins. Monitor temperature with a thermometer until it reaches 315° and then remove from heat. Dip slices of apple into syrup and lay flat to dry on Silpat. Dust with glitter.

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About Le Grand Courtâge

Independent, female-owned and managed, award-winning Frenc sparkling wine brand launched by American entrepreneur Tawnya Falkner, and today is one of the top-selling French sparkling wine brands in the Premium category. Sourcing from across multiple French wine regions, and blending unique varietals, these affordable sparkling wines offer the French cachet without the champagne price tag. These bubbles are crafted in Nuits Saint-Georges, Burgundy. Le Grand Courtâge Blanc de Blancs Brut is a blend of Chardonnay, Colombard, Ugni Blanc, and Chenin Blanc from Burgundy, Loire Valley, and Languedoc, and Le Grand Courtâge Brut Rosé is a blend of Chardonnay, Ugni Blanc, and Gamay from Burgundy, Languedoc, and Beaujolais. Sold nationally, Le Grand Courtâge symbolizes “the Great Courtship” and signifies the courtship between French and American wine culture, grapes from different regions, and the old and new world styles. Founder Tawnya Falkner’s vision was to create an affordable luxury that personifies the French spirit of joie de vivre and both elevates and celebrates the everyday. www.legrandcourtage.com