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Cocktail History
The Black Velvet is a classic cocktail that was created by a London bartender in 1861 at the Brooks’s Club in London to mourn the death of Prince Albert. It is traditionally made by mixing stout beer with sparkling wine and citrus.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Sparkling Wine: This is a carbonated wine made with white or red grapes. We used Villa Bellezza Winery Brillante because it has a light and airy flavor. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Prosecco in place of the sparkling wine.
Dry Stout Beer: This is a type of dark beer made with hops, malted barley, yeast, and water. We used Guinness Draught Stout because smooth and creamy. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Guinness 0 Non-Alcoholic Draught in place of the beer.
Lemon Twist: This is the peel of a lemon that is twisted into a corkscrew shape.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Peeler: This is used to remove the garnish peel from the citrus. We used the OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Peeler Set.
Tasting Notes
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: To our surprise, this recipe tasted a lot better than it sounded when we first read the list of ingredients. The combination is curious but pretty delicious, especially if you enjoy a good stout beer. Neither of us are big beer drinkers, so we likely won’t be making the Black Velvet again, but it’s definitely worth trying at least once.

Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Art of Vintage Cocktails by Stephanie Rosenbaum.
Pour beer into a champagne glass.
Top with sparkling wine.
Garnish with lemon twist.
Ingredients
Directions
Pour beer into a champagne glass.
Top with sparkling wine.
Garnish with lemon twist.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Prosecco in place of the sparkling wine and Guinness 0 Non-Alcoholic Draught in place of the beer to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Beer Cocktails
If you like this beer-based cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:

Averna Stout Flip: A stout beer cocktail made with Amaro Averna, egg white, egg yolk, Angostura aromatic bitters, and grated nutmeg

End of the Line: A beer cocktail made with gin, orange curaçao, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur, rosemary, grapefruit, and peppercorn bitters, and an orange slice

Stout Sangaree: An Irish stout beer and port wine cocktail made with nutmeg

Hop Over: An IPA cocktail made with genever, velvet falernum, lemon juice, orange flower water, and a lemon wheel
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