Festive celebrations call for sparkling cocktails. You can’t go wrong with a French 75, perhaps the most elegant of them all. (Gin has largely replaced cognac, the spirit in the original recipe, which dates back to the 1920s or so, but the drink still has grace.)

The mixologists at Notch8 Restaurant and Bar in the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver put a holiday spin on the classic by adding a splash of pomegranate juice for a pretty pop of colour and burst of flavour.

With a balance of sweet and sour, the Festive 75 incorporates aromatic rosemary to evoke the outdoors and crisp Steller’s Jay Mountain Jay Brut from the Okanagan Valley for B.C. flair.

Notch8 Festive 75

   1 ½ oz Bombay gin
   ¾ oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
   ½ oz simple syrup
   1 oz pomegranate juice
   Steller’s Jay Mountain Jay Brut

Combine gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and pomegranate juice in a flute. Finish with sparkling wine. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary wrapped in lemon rind.