Three Champagne cocktails
to be tested, it’s Royal!

From left to right, here are the recepies:

A Champagne cocktail that will perfectly fit the dessert.
Around an hazelnut liqueur and an apple pie syrup will arrive the king of the evening, the Champagne!

The greedy pleasure.

2cl of hazelnut liqueur
1,5 cl of apple pie syrup (Our favorite)
11 cl of Champagne

To carry on with our Champagne cocktails list, a real tasting cocktail.
A subtile mix of hibiscus flower, smoked tea and Champagne rosé.

The audacious.

1 hibiscus flower with syrup.
0,5 cl of smoked tea (Where to find some?)
12-13 cl of Champagne rosé

To end this Champagne cocktails list, a perfect early evening one.
A precise mix of ginger liqueur, vanilla syrup, lemon essence, and the whole thing complemented with Champagne.

The King.

1,5 cl of ginger liqueur (Where to find some)
1 cl of vanilla syrup
12 cl of Champagne
A yellow lemon peel pressed over the glass to extract the essence.

And now, a bit of culture…

Etymological origin.

« Epiphany » derives from the Greek word, Epiphaneia meaning « manifestation » or« appearance» and the verb phaïnò, «to appear».
The term was already used before christianism.
In the Greek culture, the « Epiphanes » were, divinities apprearing to men like Zeus, Athéna, Hermès, Poséidon,…
Originaly, the Epiphany  was part of the Christmas cycle and get it’s meaning from the pagan light feast.
Indeed, Christmas is the start of a cycle:
This cycle arrives to it’s apogee with the winter solstice, on december the 22nd.
This very night, the longest of the year, announces lenghthening of days and the re-birth of the Light, supposed to be the strat of everything.
Then, the celebration continues during a highly symbolic period, 12 days and 12 nights.
The number 12 representing among others, the Totality (12 monthes, 12 hours, 12 Olympic Gods, 12 tribes of Israël, the 12 apostles, …).
The cycle finish the 6th of January. At this moment, days are significantly longer, we then can celebrate the Epiphany, “appearance of the light”.
C’est à ce moment que les jours commencent à s’allonger de façon sensible, que la promesse de la nuit solsticiale est tenue. On célèbre alors l’Épiphanie, la manifestation de la Lumière.

The king’s cake.

Due to it’s round  shape and it’s golden colour, the cake represent the sun.

In the south-west of France, they traditionnaly prepare a cake of the kings consisting in a crown shape brioche, named  « còca » in occitan language and covered of sugar bits.
In the South-east, this same crown is covered with candied fruits in addition to the sugar. and a santon replaces the fève.
Every year, in Paris, the artisan bakers offer the “Elysée galette”. This cake has no fève in order that the president could not be crowned…