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Home » Recipes

New Year's Eve Champagne Cocktail: Blackberry Thyme Sparkler

Dec 30, 2013 ·

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When it comes to New Year's Eve celebrations, you can't go wrong with a champagne cocktail. This easy Blackberry Thyme Sparkler is made with a simple homemade blackberry simple syrup and garnished with a gold sugar rim. Your guests will love this elegant champagne cocktail recipe!

For champagne cocktails ready to serve

After a week filled with family, celebrations, and delicious dish after delicious dish, Aaron and I landed back in LA late last night.  Can we all just agree that there is no sleep like that which occurs in your own bed?  It felt really good to wake up this morning tucked into my own sheets with my head on my favorite pillow.

Since New Year's Eve is tomorrow, I thought we should squeeze in one last champagne cocktail recipe before we bid this year adieu! This ombre-colored bubbly cocktail (and the super chic champagne flute) is just as delicious as it is easy on the eyes.

There's never a bad time for a cocktail!

How to Make This Champagne Cocktail Recipe

  1. In a small saucepan, bring blackberries, water, and sugar to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until the blackberries are soft and the simple syrup has turned to a bright pink/redish color.
  2. Remove from heat, drain blackberries, and allow to cool.  This step can be done well in advance as the syrup will keep for at least a week in the refrigerator.
  3. Prepare your champagne glasses.
  4. Okay, so here is a dirty little secret of getting those beautiful salts and sugars to stay atop the rim: butter.  It adheres perfectly. Place the tiniest amount between your fingers and rub just around the rim of the glass before dipping the glass into the gold baking sugar.
  5. Begin by adding one ounce of gin followed by one ounce of homemade blackberry simple syrup to each glass.
  6. Next drop two blackberries in each glass.
  7. Fill the rest of the glass with champagne and top with a sprig of thyme in each glass. Voila!

Close up of the sugar rim on the champagne cocktail

How to serve your champagne cocktails

Rather than bringing out the glasses individually to your guests, I like to serve them on a simply decorated tray.

We first used this acrylic tray for our fall sangria post and it has continued to come in handy ever since.  A little bit of gold star confetti and voila: a total NYE appropriate serving tray.

I had these luxe leather coasters sitting out during our team holiday party and so many people commented on how great they were.  They're classic and chic and add another layer of texture to a table.

Homemade blackberry simple syrup recipe

I love making homemade simple syrups. They are such a great way of adding flavor to cocktails and the name says it all - they are so simple to make! Fruit, sugar and water is all you need. Once you've made the syrup, let it cool and transfer in to an air tight container, keep it in the fridge and it will keep for up to a week.

The bottom of the tray used to serve the cocktails

A show stopping New Year's Eve champagne cocktail

When we host New Year's Eve, I want a good amount of sparkle in my decor and drinks! The gold sugar rim adds a subtle and chic festive feel to these cocktails. The prettiest cocktail, right?! I'm not just biased?

Top Tips To Make This Blueberry Thyme Sparkler

  • Make your simple syrup ahead of time and it will only take 5 minutes to prepare these festive cocktails.
  • Use a tiny amount of butter on the rim so that the sugar sticks and stays in place.
  • Garnish the drink with fresh blackberries and thyme for color and fragrance.
  • Serve these cocktails immediately so that they don't loose their fizz.
Four cocktails on a serving tray

For more cocktail recipes:

  • Sidecar Cocktail Recipe
  • Vanilla Pumpkin Spice Mules
  • Peppermint White Russian
  • Gin Lavender Lattes

I would love to hear what you think of this New Year's Eve champagne cocktail recipe. Be sure to drop us a note in the comments below. We would love to know what is your favorite champagne cocktail recipe!

Cocktail Hour / Blackberry Thyme Sparkler a Champagne Cocktail

Jen Pinkston
When it comes to New Year's Eve celebrations, you can't go wrong with a champagne cocktail. This easy Blackberry Thyme Sparkler is made with a simple homemade blackberry simple syrup and garnished with a gold sugar rim.
4 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 20 mins
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Servings 4 cocktails
Calories 400 kcal

Equipment

  • champagne glasses

Ingredients
  

  • ½ c. blackberries + 8 more for garnish
  • 1 c. Water
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 1 bottle of champagne
  • 4 ounces or ½ c. gin
  • 4 long sprigs of thyme
  • 1 c. ice
  •  gold baking sugar for the rim

Instructions
 

  • In a small saucepan, bring blackberries, water, and sugar to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until the blackberries are soft and the simple syrup has turned to a bright pink/redish color.
  • Remove from heat, drain blackberries, and allow to cool.  This step can be done well in advance as the syrup will keep for at least a week in the refrigerator.
  • Prepare your champagne glasses.
  • Okay, so here is a dirty little secret of getting those beautiful salts and sugars to stay atop the rim: butter.  It adheres perfectly. Place the tiniest amount between your fingers and rub just around the rim of the glass before dipping the glass into the gold baking sugar.
  • Begin by adding 1 ounce of gin followed by 1.5 ounces of homemade blackberry simple syrup to each glass.
  • Next drop two blackberries in each glass.
  • Fill the rest of the glass with champagne and top with a sprig of thyme in each glass. Voila!

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Cocktail Hour / Blackberry Thyme Sparkler a Champagne Cocktail
Amount per Serving
Calories
400
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
1
g
2
%
Saturated Fat
 
1
g
6
%
Sodium
 
20
mg
1
%
Potassium
 
213
mg
6
%
Carbohydrates
 
64
g
21
%
Fiber
 
2
g
8
%
Sugar
 
63
g
70
%
Protein
 
1
g
2
%
Vitamin A
 
111
IU
2
%
Vitamin C
 
8
mg
10
%
Calcium
 
30
mg
3
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Keyword blackberry cocktails, champagne cocktails, homemade simple syrup, new years eve cocktails
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
champagne cocktails garnished with thyme and blackberries

Shop This Post:

Photography by Melissa Valladares

Leather Coasters, Cocktail Shaker, and Acrylic Tray by Mark and Graham

PS. Enjoy this post? See all of our cocktail recipes here!

« What To Listen To Now / The Best of 2013
New Year's Eve (Bump) Style »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jan says

    May 05, 2019 at 5:56 pm

    Hi Jen!
    Thanks for sharing this recipe. it tastes delicious and is pretty easy! thanks also for the sugar rim tip.
    Like the other commenters, i could not get the drink to achieve that coveted ombre effect. As this recipe is over 5 years old, I was just wondering if you've figured out any tips or trips for the ombre effect that you could share? It's so pretty and would def add a wow factor.
    Thanks so much!4 stars

    • Jen Pinkston says

      May 07, 2019 at 8:13 am

      Thanks so much for letting me know, Jan! I need to revisit this one!

  2. Vincent says

    December 27, 2018 at 3:59 pm

    How did you get the hombre effect in the cocktail, or is the pink on the bottom part of the design of the champagne flute?

    • Jen Pinkston says

      December 28, 2018 at 11:40 am

      Hi Vincent, I have to say it was a happy accident. I had no idea it would do this when we were creating them.

  3. Ashley says

    January 08, 2018 at 8:45 am

    Loved this Cocktail! Made it as a welcome drink for my wine tastkng. I followed the instructions but the ombre effect was not as drastic as the picture. However, i did notice the longer they sat, the More the omBre effect was noticeable.

    The drink tasted great! UsinG the butter to rim the glasses definitely worked just like she said. Such a great tip to Remember for addiding sugar to a glass rim.

    Overall awesome drink!

  4. Maude says

    October 21, 2016 at 4:41 pm

    Delicious cocktail! But when we pour everything into the glass that "ombré" effect didn't happen. Just bright pink top to bottom. Is there an exact order to pour the ingredients? Do we have to wait until the syrup settles? Should we just use one ounce of syrup instead of two?

    • Jen Pinkston says

      October 24, 2016 at 3:44 pm

      Hey Maude, I am so bummed they didn't turned out! The ombre effect was such a happy accident and I did my best to replicate it in the instructions exactly as we did it. It's been almost three years since we made that recipe now, so all I remember is what is there in the text. Did you follow the exact order of the text?

  5. dana stephenson says

    January 20, 2016 at 3:07 pm

    what the heck is a pregnant lady doing drinking a champagne+gin cocktail? hopefully hers is a non alcoholic version. wow guys, that was a real boo-boo.

    • Jen Pinkston says

      January 20, 2016 at 3:12 pm

      Read the copy and rest assured. No babies were harmed in the making of this post

  6. Moira says

    December 26, 2014 at 2:46 am

    Do you REALLY drink alcohol when you are pregnant ???????????????????

  7. stephanie says

    December 23, 2014 at 9:32 am

    Great looking cocktail! I hope the baby bump lady is not going to drink that gin/champagne! LOL

  8. Lori says

    December 22, 2014 at 8:36 pm

    We tried this at a party tonight. It tasted amazing. Unfortunately we were not able to duplicate the ombré look. The whole thing turned redish/pink. Is it really 2 ounces of the syrup? Yours looks like much less in the pic. Thank you for the recipe. It is divine! I look forward to perfecting it and would love your input 🙂

    Lori

  9. Christine Karr says

    February 13, 2014 at 8:48 am

    Hi! The recipe looks delicious and those glasses really make it stand out. Can you tell me where to find them, what you call them, anything you happen to have on these particular glasses. My sister-in-law and have been looking for them forever with no luck!

    Thanks and may God bless!!

    • Jen Pinkston says

      February 13, 2014 at 8:50 am

      Absolutely! You can purchase them from Hayneedle: http://bit.ly/1bPwDEo

  10. Sarah says

    January 31, 2014 at 12:25 pm

    love the rim with the sugar it almost looks like gold sparkly glitter!

  11. Alex says

    January 23, 2014 at 2:15 pm

    Blackberry & thyme are two of my favorite flavor combinations; blackberries, thyme, goat cheese, and arugula is my go-to flatbread recipe!
    But blackberries, thyme, and champagne!? YES.

  12. Amanda says

    January 01, 2014 at 11:57 am

    Love these champagne glasses! Where did you get them from?

  13. Alexandra @ Confessions of a Bright-Eyed Baker says

    December 31, 2013 at 7:24 pm

    I'm not sure there could be a prettier cocktail than this one you've made here. The ombré effect is perfect! Gorgeous presentation. 🙂

  14. Leah // Freutcake says

    December 31, 2013 at 3:32 pm

    These are absolutely gorgeous my friend! Cheers to 2014!

  15. Rachael | Spache the Spatula says

    December 31, 2013 at 12:05 pm

    These cocktails are unbelievably stunning! (And I love the cute little gold star glitter!)

  16. Sini | my blue&white kitchen says

    December 31, 2013 at 2:23 am

    This cocktail looks stunning! Rustic and elegant at the same time. Have a wonderful 2014!

    • Jen Pinkston says

      December 31, 2013 at 7:32 am

      Thank you, Sini! Happy new year!

  17. kelsey says

    December 30, 2013 at 6:10 pm

    what a gorgeous cocktail!
    ladies in navy

    • Jen Pinkston says

      December 31, 2013 at 7:33 am

      Thanks, Kelsey! It is certainly easy on the eyes 😉

  18. andreavytlacilova says

    December 30, 2013 at 2:25 pm

    Looks delicious! 🙂 Happy new year!

    ANDREA

    • Jen Pinkston says

      December 31, 2013 at 7:33 am

      Thanks, Andrea! Happy new year to you!

  19. Catherine says

    December 30, 2013 at 9:38 am

    Love this! All of it. Need to try the recipe. 🙂

    • Jen Pinkston says

      December 31, 2013 at 7:34 am

      If only I could try it with you! Hope you guys have a great NYE! Let's set a lunch date soon!

  20. Chel says

    December 30, 2013 at 9:18 am

    Great cocktail recipe and look at that baby bump...Beautiful Jen!

    • Jen Pinkston says

      December 31, 2013 at 7:34 am

      Thank you so much, Chel!

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