New Year's Eve Cocktails

18 drinks · Updated October 2026

New Year’s Eve cocktails are an occasion-based selection, not a historically fixed cocktail family. The recurring choices are sparkling wine, celebratory service and drinks that can be assembled without lengthy preparation. Drinks on this page include Bellini, Buck's Fizz and Black Velvet. The Bellini mixes peach purée with sparkling wine; Buck’s Fizz combines orange juice and Champagne. Black Velvet pairs stout with sparkling wine. The seasonal label does not change a drink’s classic recipe or establish when it was invented. It is a way to choose among different structures, temperatures and ingredients for the occasion, with alcohol strength determined by the actual measures and dilution.

• Airmail

  Handbook for Hosts (1949)

  1 oz Aged rum 0.5 oz Lime juice 0.5 oz Honey syrup Top Champagne (about 3 oz)

• Bellini

  Giuseppe Cipriani, Harry's Bar, Venice (1948)

  1.75 oz White peach purée 3.25 oz Prosecco

• Black Velvet

  Brooks's Club, London (1861)

  3 oz Stout 3 oz Champagne

• Buck's Fizz

  Malachi "Pat" McGarry, Buck's Club, London (1921)

  3.25 oz Champagne 1.75 oz Orange juice

• Champagne Cocktail

  Classic (printed in Jerry Thomas's bar guide, 1862)

  1 Sugar cube 2 dashes Angostura bitters 0.25 oz Cognac 3 oz Champagne Few drops Orange liqueur (optional)

• Death in the Afternoon

  Ernest Hemingway, So Red the Nose (1935)

  1.5 oz Absinthe Top Champagne (about 4.5 oz)

• French 75

  Classic (Paris, WWI era)

  1.5 oz Gin 0.75 oz Lemon juice 0.5 oz Cane sugar syrup Top Champagne

• French 95

  Classic (bourbon take on the French 75)

  2 oz Bourbon 0.75 oz Lemon juice 0.5 oz Cane sugar syrup Top Champagne

• Kir Royale

  Classic (Burgundy, France)

  0.25 oz Crème de cassis 3 oz Champagne

• Negroni Sbagliato

  Mirko Stocchetto, Bar Basso, Milan (1972)

  1 oz Campari 1 oz Sweet vermouth Top Prosecco

• Russian Spring Punch

  Dick Bradsell, London (1980s)

  0.75 oz Vodka 0.75 oz Lemon juice 0.5 oz Crème de cassis 0.25 oz Simple syrup Top Champagne

• Sgroppino

  Classic (Venice)

  0.75 oz Vodka 0.5 oz Heavy cream 2 oz Prosecco 2.5 scoops Lemon sorbet

• Champ-Ale

  Alec Bales, Ticonderoga Club, Atlanta (2025)

  2 oz Light beer (cream ale) 2 oz Sparkling wine 1.5 oz Sweet vermouth 0.75 oz Lemon juice 0.5 oz Cane syrup (2:1)

• Seelbach

  Adam Seger, Seelbach Hilton, Louisville (1995)

  1 oz Bourbon 0.5 oz Orange liqueur 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters 2 dashes Angostura bitters Top Champagne

• Twinkle

  Tony Conigliaro, The Lonsdale, London (2002)

  2 oz Vodka 0.5 oz Elderflower liqueur 2 oz Champagne

• Parisian Spring Punch

  Dick Bradsell, London

  1 oz Calvados 0.5 oz Dry vermouth 0.25 oz Lemon juice 0.25 oz Rich simple syrup 3.5 oz Champagne

• French Spring Punch

  Dick Bradsell and Rodolphe Sorel, Match EC1, London (late 1990s)

  1 oz Cognac 0.5 oz Raspberry liqueur 0.5 oz Lemon juice 0.25 oz Rich simple syrup Top Champagne

• Old Cuban

  Audrey Saunders, Pegu Club, New York (2001)

  1.5 oz Aged rum 0.75 oz Lime juice 1 oz Simple syrup 6-8 Mint leaves 2 dashes Angostura bitters Top Champagne