I love to bring in the new year with a glass or two of bubbly. This year is no exception, but my champagne glass this year will also contain Kombucha in the form of this Kombucha-Champagne Cocktail. Not only is kombucha delicious, but it serves two important purposes. First, it cuts down on the amount of champagne I will drink without adding sugar. I am aiming to start the year off with the True Yoga Journey with Adriene, not a hangover!! Second, Kombucha is very detoxifying for the liver. (It is actually a great hangover remedy if you end up drinking too much despite your best efforts. It happens to the best of us.) I haven’t done or seen any studies on whether or not kombucha can actually detoxify your liver WHILE you are in the midst of “toxifying” it. However, in my book, adding kombucha, with all of its nutrients including bacteria and yeast that eat sugar, is better than adding sugary juice to your drink just to cut it. (Here is a post on how to make your own Kombucha.) Also, did I mention that kombucha is delicious?
How to make a Kombucha-Champagne Cocktail:
- Bubbly- I like to use Prosecco
- Plain Kombucha (Homemade kombucha, or buy an “original” or “plain” flavor)
- Optional: Pomegranate seeds and splash of fresh pomegranate juice.
Directions:
- Pour a champagne flute half full with plain kombucha (be sure it is bubbly. You can try making your own kombucha, but it will take about a month for the first batch to be ready. If you don’t have that kind of lead time, spring for a bottle of GT’s. This is a great brand that doesn’t add sugar. If you can find this one, read your label carefully. Manufacturers are sneaking sugar into kombucha these days!
- Fill the flute the rest of the way with champagne. This time of year, pomegranate seeds are a perfect garnish. Pick up a pomegranate, seed it, and you will get a fair amount of fresh pomegranate juice to splash in your glass for a beautiful pink hue. Or you can splash in quite a bit in for a holiday red. Top your glass with the seeds and you have a beautiful and tasty beverage
Disclaimer: I can’t guarantee you won’t get a hangover with this drink. These are tasty and go down easily. Consider yourself warned. You can also mix the Kombucha with red or white wine to make a Kombucha-wine spritzer.
Have you ever added Kombucha to a cocktail? Are you going to try it?
I love this idea! I have a weakness for ‘healthy’ cocktails… my sister makes fun of me for putting vodka in my kombucha! Haha
One question… I thought all kombucha has sugar as part of the fermenting process or something?
Hi Emily!
You add sugar to the tea for the scoby (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) to eat. As it eats the sugar, it turns it in to amazingly healthy things for you like probiotics and beneficial acids. So, if the Kombucha has fermented long enough, there shouldn’t be any sugar left (or just a trace). If you brew it at home, you are in control of this. If you are buying it, you have to check the label to be sure they didn’t add sugar AFTER it was fermented. Many of the newer brewers are doing this to appeal to a more mainstream palate.
These champagne cocktails are so tasty! You will love them! It works great with red wine as well. Sort of like a healthy sangria. 🙂 I have never tried adding vodka. I will have to put it on my list. 🙂
Chelsea
Thanks for the info! That makes a lot more sense!
I really want to try making my own but just haven’t gotten into fermenting yet.
I’ve never added kombucha to a cocktail before. I’m definitely trying this!
It’s good to know there’s a commercial brand of kombucha that doesn’t really add sugar! We make our own, but sometimes our schedule or travel means we don’t have any ready to drink.
I am totally doing this for holiday drinks this year! I am ADDICTED to kombucha. I started making my own last year to save a few bucks!
YES, that sounds great ? can’t wait to try it at my next girls night!
Love that Idea. I am going to search for the kombucha brands here, not sure what I can get.