011500_champag_cupChampagne Cup

4 units of brandy
3 of maraschino
2 of Benedictine
1 bottle of champagne, chilled
2 pints of chilled sparkling water
orange and lemon slices

Place the sliced fruit in a large jug and add the spirits. Leave for half an hour ( I know, it's difficult.)
Add a handful of ice cubes and pour in the champagne and sparkling water immediately before serving in wine glasses.

It's an excellent way to improve the enjoyment of inferior champagne - not that I'd serve inferior champers!

We sit at our tables and sip champagne;
Ere one bottle goes, comes another again;
The waiters they skip and they scuttle about,
And the landlord attends us so civilly out.
So pleasant it is to have money, hey ho!
So pleasant it is to have money.

Arthur Hugh Clough, Dipsychus