velvet club

1 oz Hine VSOP Cognac (Foret VSOP)
1/2 oz Lillet Blanc (Cocchi Americano)
1/2 oz Marie Brizard White Crème de Cacao

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Top with 1 oz Champagne (Gruet Blanc de Blanc).

Two Fridays ago, I reached for the PDT Cocktail Book for some nightcap inspiration. There, I spied Jane Danger's 2008-vintage Velvet Club that riffed on the 1937 Velvet Glove from the Café Royal Cocktail Book by switching around the proportions and adding a splash of Champagne. To me, it appeared like a brandy-for-gin 20th Century from that same 1937 cocktail book but with crisp sparkling wine in place of the lemon juice.
The Velvet Club began with a white wine aroma that led into a carbonated wine sip from the sparkling wine and Cocchi Americano. The swallow was a bit more complex with rich brandy and chocolate notes. Overall, the sparkling wine was not as crisp to give the drink the same degree of backbone as in the 20th Century, but the Velvet Club was rather elegant in its own right.