Bubbles add bling to holiday cocktails

Achampagne cocktail at Sub Zero Vodka Bar is a splash of color, sophistication and intrigue in your hand. Forget the tired classics in this category – owner Derek Gamlin and his brother and general manager, Lucas, have contrived four tasty blends starring various vodkas and Rotari Brut, a sparkling wine from Italy. It would seem almost irreverent to consider drinking anything other than a martini at Sub Zero, an establishment known best for the decadent selection of vodkas enshrined on the walls behind the bar. Yet the Bling Bling champagne cocktail remains one of the bar’s biggest-selling drinks. Along with the Romanoff Bellini, the Bling Bling was among the first on the Sub Zero drink menu when the bar opened 16 months ago. The drink features muddled raspberries, simple syrup, sparkling wine and the “bling bling” of Armadale Vodka. Armadale is a high-end, triple-distilled vodka made in Scotland from a two-grain process with wheat and barley. Rocafella Records, of which Jay-Z is the CEO, owns this sophisticated label. The Bling Bling stands up to its name and glitzy association on looks and taste. The combination of muddled raspberries and sparkling wine gives the drink visual pizazz. The taste is strikingly similar to a Flirtini, a cocktail made famous in an episode of “Sex and the City,” sans pineapple juice. Veering toward traditional, the Romanoff Bellini takes full advantage of a modern, canned Cipriani Bellini base of puréed peaches – an ingredient known for a short shelf life and a frequent cause for the traditional Bellini’s absence on other drink menus. The puréed peaches are combined with Stoli Persik vodka and sparkling wine to create a blend similar to a Fuzzy Navel but edging toward the sweeter side of a traditional Bellini. However, the Black Bellini diffuses some of the sweetness of the Romanoff. Combining Absolut Apeach vodka, Cipriani Bellini base, sparkling wine and a floater of Blavod Vodka, this drink is the only one on the champagne-cocktail menu served with a straw at Sub Zero. The black vodka, a specialty from the United Kingdom where red Vampyre Vodka is also produced, adds an interesting layered element to this combination and a murky color quality once mixed. Although Lucas Gamlin attested to the flavorless quality of the Blavod Vodka, its presence reduces the sweetness of the aforementioned Romanoff Bellini, which serves as the base recipe for this cocktail. Blue Champagne is the last of Sub Zero’s champagne cocktail menu. It has a boisterous bright blue color and a strong citrus spike. The spotlight ingredient is Blue Curaçao, an orange-flavored liqueur, combined with the equally orange-flavored triple sec, Level Vodka, a squeeze of lemon and a cherry garnish. This cocktail has a zesty, sweet flavor with a crowd-pleasing look. To reduce the sweetness in any of these cocktails, ask for the bartender to go heavy on the vodka and the sparkling wine; the brut designation on the Rotari attests to its dryness. Don’t expect the champagne-cocktail menu at Sub Zero to remain stagnant for long. The increasing popularity of these mixes, as well as the increased interest in the sparkling bottle selection at Sub Zero, guarantees more to come when the cocktail menu is revamped early next year. Until then, enjoy the festive bubbly blends this holiday season.