Ritz
ClassicCognac and citrus lifted with a float of champagne — pure old-world glamour.
Rich but bright. Cognac and orange liqueur give it a warm, brandied depth, maraschino adds a nutty floral note, and lemon keeps it lively — then champagne lifts the whole thing into something celebratory. The flamed orange oil is the finishing perfume.
Ingredients
- 1 oz Cognac
- 0.5 oz Orange Liqueur
- 0.25 oz Maraschino Liqueur
- 0.5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- Champagne to top
- Orange peel · optional garnish
Method
- 1
Shake the cognac, orange liqueur, maraschino, and lemon with ice.
- 2
Strain into a chilled coupe.
- 3
Top with champagne.
- 4
Flame an orange peel over the surface and drop it in.
The Story
The Ritz is Dale DeGroff's tribute to the golden-age hotel bar, built in the 1980s and '90s revival that pulled cocktails back toward craft. It layers the Sidecar's cognac-and-citrus frame over a float of champagne, then finishes with a flamed orange peel — the theatrical flourish DeGroff helped bring back. Named for the hotels that made luxury a verb, it drinks exactly as grand as it sounds.
Recipe card
The whole recipe in one shareable image.
