Pop into the New Year with a Golden Popping Grape! This sparkling cocktail combines the festive luck of the 12 grapes tradition with a golden fizz that’s sure to light up your celebrations. Whether it’s ringing in the New Year or adding a little extra luck to any day, each sip brings a burst of fortune, fun, and good vibes for the year ahead. A bubbly toast to luck, joy, and unforgettable moments!
This cocktail is inspired by the "12 Lucky Grapes" tradition that started in Spain in the 19th or 20th century and is a ritual of eating 12 grapes for each stroke of the clock at midnight on New Year's Eve for good luck. Each grape also symbolizes a wish for each of the coming months in the New Year. Seeing it has become a popular tradition all over the world the Golden Popping Grape combines the eating of the grapes with your midnight toast . All in one with a popping surprise!
The Golden Popping Grape highlights the vibrant taste of fresh grapes while rounding out with the dry, bubbly flavor of vintage champagne grapes. Like the grapes in this cocktail what better way to marry the past and future than with a drink perfect for New Year’s Eve? It’s a time when we reflect on the past year—cherishing memories and accomplishments—while also being deeply invested in the present and what lies ahead in the New Year.
To give the drink some of that anticipated New Years sparkle and pop, the fresh grapes are gold sugar dusted with the addition of popping candy! Cheers to the New Year and to all of your 12 Wishes and more coming true!
Ingredients
Golden Popping Grape blends sweet grapes, bubbly champagne, and a hint of citrus for a refreshing, celebratory sip.
- Champagne or Prosecco
- St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
- Green Grapes
- Lemon Juice
- Popping Candy
See recipe card for quantities.
Golden Popping Grape Mocktail Recipe
For those who prefer to skip the alcohol or want to serve a delicious, inclusive drink for all, this mocktail version offers the same refreshing, bubbly goodness without the booze.
- Welch's Sparkling White Grape Juice
- Green Grapes
- Lemon Juice
- Popping Candy
- Optional: Non-Alcoholic Elderflower Syrup
For the Mocktail follow the instructions for the main cocktail recipe, but omit the champagne and use the Sparkling Grape Juice instead.
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📖 Recipe
Golden Popping Grape
Ingredients
Cocktail Ingredients
- 6-8 Green Grapes
- ½ oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur (1 tbsp)
- ½ oz Fresh Lemon Juice ( 1 tbsp)
- 1 bottle Champagne
Sugar Popping Candy Coating for Grapes (Garnish)
- 24 Green Grapes Use as many grapes as you'd like for garnishing
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Water
- 1 package Popping Candy (I used fruit punch flavor)
- 1 pinch Edible Gold Dust
- Sugar additional for coating
Instructions
Sugar Popping Candy Coating for Grapes
- Start by prepping the candy coating for the grapes ahead of time so the grapes can harden before you need them for the cocktail.
- Add the sugar and the water to a small saucepan over medium heat until dissolved and fully combined.
- Take the sugar mixture off of the heat and let it cool for a couple minutes
- Add 2-3 grapes in the mixture at a time to coat the grapes and leave to dry on a baking rack. Finish with all of your grapes.
- Once the grapes have been sitting for 5-10 minutes they will become slightly sticky to the touch. Add some sugar, popping candy, and gold dust to a shallow dish. Mix it together, this will be the exterior coating to the grapes.
- Take one grape from the baking rack at a time and roll it in the dry mixture of the sugar, gold dust, and popping candy. Coat it well and then place back on the baking rack. Let the sugar dusted fruit dry completely, an additional 30/40 minutes before using as a garnish.
- Repeat this step with all of your grapes you are using as a garnish.
Golde Popping Grape
- Add some of your fresh uncoated green grapes, fresh lemon juice, and the elderflower liqueur to a cocktail shaker.
- Using a muddle tool or the back of a wooden spoon crush and muddle the grapes together with the lemon and elderflower liqueur. Once muddled, add some ice to your shake and shake well to blend all the ingredients together while chilling at the same time.
- Using the strainer on the cap, pour the muddled grape mixture into your champagne glass.
- Top the grape citrus elderflower mixture with Champagne or Prosecco.
- Slice one of your sugar-coated grapes to sit it on the rim of the glass or use a cocktail pick to load up some of the sugar-coated grapes to lay across each drink.
- Be sure to eat 12 lucky grapes (coated or uncoated) at midnight with your delicious golden popping grape cocktail. Centanni!
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