The Lagniappe

Serves: 8–10

Whether you choose the classic Cognac version or the zero-proof alternative, The Lagniappe is an elegant sparkling cocktail with lemon and mint-honey, perfect for holiday entertaining.

Mint-Honey Syrup

Batched | Makes about ¾ cup

Ingredients

1. ½ cup honey
2. ½ cup water
3. 1 packed cup fresh mint (Fresh mint only. No peppermint extract—it reads as toothpaste in a glass and can’t be hidden in a mocktail.)

Instructions

Step 1: Warm the honey and water until the honey dissolves. Do not boil.

Step 2: Remove from the heat and steep the mint for 20 minutes. Strain and chill. Keeps refrigerated for up to two weeks.

Cocktail Base

Makes 22 oz (about 8 drinks)

Ingredients

1. 12 oz (1½ cups) VSOP Cognac
2. 6 oz (¾ cup) fresh lemon juice
3. 4 oz (½ cup) mint‑honey syrup
4. 1 tsp orange bitters

Instructions

Step 1: Stir the Cognac, lemon juice, mint-honey syrup, and bitters together in a pitcher or bottle.

Step 2: Refrigerate for at least four hours and up to six hours.

Step 3: Batching means there’s no shaking, so the cold is doing all the work. A lukewarm base makes a flabby drink.

Step 4: Make the syrup up to two days ahead. Juice the lemons the morning of.

To Serve

Top & Garnish

1. 2¾ oz chilled cocktail base per glass
2. 2 oz dry sparkling wine per glass
3. Wide lemon peel
4. Fresh mint sprigs
5. Freshly cracked black pepper
6. 1 bottle (750 ml) dry sparkling wine (use Champagne Brut, Crémant, or Cava); make sure the sparkling wine is fully chilled
7. Chilled coupe glasses (for about 15 minutes in the freezer)

Instructions

Step 1: Pour 2¾ oz of the chilled cocktail base into each glass.

Step 2: Slowly add 2 oz sparkling wine down the side of the glass to preserve the bubbles. Never batch the bubbles. Add the sparkling wine glass by glass, or you’ll be serving flat cocktails by the second round.

Step 3: Express a wide lemon peel over the surface and drop it into the glass.

Step 4: Slap a mint sprig once against your palm and set it at the rim.

Step 5: Crack three turns of black pepper over the top. Crack the pepper last—it belongs on the nose, not stirred into the drink.

Once the base is cold, each drink takes under 15 seconds to finish.

The Little Extra: Zero-Proof

Serves: 6

A zero-proof take on The Lagniappe, The Little Extra replaces Cognac with verjus and strong black tea, while keeping the mint-honey, lemon, bubbles, and black-pepper finish.

Ingredients

1. 1 oz mint-honey syrup
2. 1 oz verjus
3. 1 oz strong black tea, chilled
4. ½ oz fresh lemon juice
5. 2 dashes orange bitters, optional
6. 2 oz sparkling water or non-alcoholic sparkling wine

Garnish

1. Wide lemon peel
2. Mint sprig
3. 3 turns black pepper

The Tea

Brew the tea (Assam or Ceylon is ideal) double strength. Use two black tea bags per 1 cup of water. Steep for 4–5 minutes, then cool completely. Don’t push past 5 minutes—you want tannic grip, not harshness. Oversteeped tea can turn chalky and bitter in a cold drink.

Decaf works perfectly if you’re pouring these late

To Serve

Step 1: Chill a coupe in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Step 2: Shake the mint-honey syrup, verjus, tea, lemon juice, and bitters with ice for 12 seconds. No alcohol means no built-in chill or dilution, so the shake is doing more work here, not less.

Step 3: Double-strain into the cold glass.

Step 4: Top with 2 oz sparkling water or non-alcoholic sparkling wine, pouring down the side of the glass.

Step 5: Express the lemon peel over the surface and drop it in.

Step 6: Slap the mint once against your palm and set it at the rim.

Step 7: Crack three turns of black pepper over the top.

Chef Tips

1. Bitters aren’t technically zero‑proof. They’re ~40% ABV, and two dashes are a trace amount most people don’t count. If you’re pouring for someone in recovery, pregnant, or avoiding alcohol for religious reasons, leave them out and don’t improvise. An alcohol‑free bitters (All the Bitter or Dash) or a strip of expressed orange peel covers the aromatic gap. Ask rather than assume.
2. No verjus? Substitute 1 oz unsweetened white grape juice and cut the syrup to ¾ oz. The juice brings its own sugar. Add a squeeze more lemon. It’s a step down—though verjus does the heavy lifting, this it works.
3. Non‑alcoholic sparkling wine instead of soda makes it noticeably more convincing for a toast. Look for a dry one—most are sweetened, so taste first and pull back the syrup by ¼ oz if needed.