Sparkling Pear Vodka Cocktail with Prosecco

• It’s a unique cocktail that is a festive and seasonal spin on the classic French 76 cocktail, which is made with vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, and prosecco. (French 75 cocktails are typically made with gin and equally tasty!)

• This cocktail is refreshing – which can be so nice after all of the rich holiday food. It can be a really great palate cleanser.

• It’s so quick to make (just 5 minutes!) and uses ingredients that are not difficult to find!

• Pear vodka – this has become pretty easy to find in many liquor stores. Using a pear flavored vodka makes the fall flavors of this cocktail shine bright. Pear vodka is something I’ve started keeping in my bar cart regularly as it can be used for all sorts of pear vodka cocktail recipes like a Pear Vodka Martini or a Pear Cosmopolitan.

• Lemon juice – as with all citrus juices in cocktails, I recommend using fresh lemon juice. Bottle is fine in a pinch, but it does make a difference in the flavor of the cocktail.

• Simple syrup – if you’ve been making cocktails for a while, you are no stranger to simple syrup. To make you’ll need to add ½ cup water and sugar each and heat on the stove until the sugar is fully dissolved. Allow it to completely cool before using it in cocktails.

• Sparkling wine – Prosecco is one of the best options for a cocktail like this, but whatever sparkling wine you choose, you should go for a dry style like brut. With the simple syrup in this drink, sweet sparkling wines would be overly cloying. Cava is a Spanish sparkling wine and another common wine that is easily found in the brut style.

*Full ingredient list and measurements included in the recipe below*

1 – Add the pear vodka to a cocktail shaker.

2 – Then add your lemon juice.

3 – Lastly, add your simple syrup to the cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until well chilled.

4 – Strain the cocktail into a martini or coupe glass.

5 – Top the cocktail off with prosecco.

6 – Add a garnish of either a dried or fresh pear slice.

• If you can’t find pear vodka, you can substitute regular vodka in the same amount. You will want to add about 1 ounce of pear nectar or pear juice, so that you can still get that pear flavor.

• You can replace the simple syrup with St. Germain in the same amount to add some extra flavor to the cocktail. St. Germain is an elderflower liqueur and considered quite sweet, so it’s a good substitute for simple syrup.

• For garnish, you can also use a lemon twist instead of a pear slice.