Thanksgiving Sparkler

This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy here.

Cocktail History

The Thanksgiving Sparkler is an autumn cocktail that was created by Nick Mautone at Rainbow Room in New York City, New York and was first published in his book The Artisanal Kitchen: Holiday Cocktails. This fall-inspired variation of the classic French 75 combines a brandy base with the seasonal flavor of spiced pumpkin, the sourness of lemon, and the effervescence of semi-dry bubbly to make a festive sipper that’ll keep you buzzed through the long holiday weekend.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Sparkling Wine: This is a type of wine made with white grapes and yeast, which are fermented with the skins to produce alcohol and then infused with carbon dioxide gas to develop a pale yellow-green color and crisp, fruity flavor.

Brandy: This is a spirit made with fermented fruit juice and yeast, which are distilled and then aged to develop a smooth, rich flavor.

Pumpkin Spice Syrup: This is a sweetener made with pumpkin purée, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, brown sugar, white sugar, and water, which are heated and infused into a syrup with a spiced, autumnal flavor.

Lemon Juice: This is the liquid extracted from the flesh of ripe lemons that has a sweet, tangy flavor and light yellow color.

Brown Sugar: This is a sweetener made with refined sugar and molasses that has a soft, moist texture and rich, caramel-like flavor.

Nutmeg: This is a spice made from the seeds of the nutmeg tree, which are dried and grated for their warm, aromatic flavor.

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut smaller ingredients. I used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.

Juicer: This is used to juice citrus, fruits, and vegetables. I used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.

Bar Spoon: This is used to stir ingredients. I used the Barfly Stainless Steel Teardrop Bar Spoon.

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Brown-ish golden color

• Aroma: Dry wine and brown sugar

• Taste: Sweet brown sugar and bubbly wine flavor followed with pumpkin, citrus, and spices

• Finish: More dry wine

Kendall’s Take: “The original recipe for this cocktail didn’t call for any citrus and wasn’t quite right without it, in my opinion. Adding in the lemon juice made it so much more balanced. Although I’ll admit it is a bit on kitschy side with its brown sugar rim, I really enjoyed this sparkling wine cocktail. I found the Thanksgiving Sparkler to be like an autumn-flavored bubbly, which is something I’ve never tried before. I would have this again at the holidays—maybe just without the sweet, sugary rim.”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Artisanal Kitchen: Holiday Cocktails by Nick Mautone.