Let’s Celebrate Mimosa Day
Ahhhh mimosas, the perfectly acceptable drink to enjoy in the morning. And let’s face it, it is the perfect brunch companion, right?
National Mimosa day is May 16…and we think that is the perfect reason to celebrate with the perfect mimosa bar. And don’t worry, if you’re thinking a mimosa bar is too much work, we’ve got you covered with some simple, unique mimosa recipes.
How to make the perfect Mimosa
Now let’s talk about how to make one. Super simple, right? Bubbly + Juice. And then the debate begins. How much of each?
The correct proportions are one part champagne to one part juice and I don’t know about you, but that does not work for me at all! My mimosas are 3/4 bubbly and 1/4 juice.
And if you’ve ever been with me at a place that only has classic mimosas (with OJ), you’ll hear me order a mimosa minus the OJ…because that is how much I hate OJ!
And my favorite bartender at the Alaska Airlines Lounge in Seattle, WA always asks, “For color or flavor?” When you order a mimosa. Now that is the perfect question to make sure you’re making the perfect mimosa for that person’s taste.
So the bottom line is make them how you want them. Basically, some juice, some bubbly, maybe some fruit and CHEERS!
Simple Mimosa Recipes
If you’re looking for super simple mimosa recipes, here you go. All you need to do is go grab one of these juices and add it to bubbly and you’re set.
- Grapefruit
- Cranberry
- Guave nectar
- Watermelon
- Pomegranate
- Peach
- Orange juice
- Strawberry lemonade
- Raspberry lemonade
- Lemonade (and you can even add some muddled fruit to this one)
I usually go straight to the refrigerated section and buy every flavor of Simply Juice they have and then fill in the gaps where needed. I find that that depending on the amount of people, the small ones are less wasteful. (Now keep in mind the proportions of juice to bubbly when I make a mimosa!)
How to Keep your Mimosa Chilled
Frozen Fruit
One of my top tips for keeping any bubbly cocktail chilled is to use frozen fruit. And when you’re creating a mimosa bar, not only will this be easy to put out, but it doubles as your ice cubes.
I always have frozen fruit stocked in my freezer, always. And some of fruit is just there to keep my bubbly chilled when I need it.
I love using cranberries because they are super simple and don’t add any flavor. And they stay frozen forever.
Frozen green and red grapes are also easy and fun. If I am in a rush, I just rinse them and put them on a cookie sheet or a plate to freeze. If I know I have people that like their bubbly a little more sweet, after I rinse them, I swirl them around in sugar and then put them into the freezer.
TIP: Put parchment paper or non-stick aluminum foil on your cookie sheet or plate before putting them into the freezer.
Depending on the flavor of your mimosa, you can also freeze a fruit that matches or complements it and add it. In reality the frozen fruit doesn’t add much flavor when tossed in whole and frozen.
Fruity Bubbly Ice Cubes
Keeping it simple, but kicking it up a notch, take an ice cube tray, place a piece of fresh, frozen fruit in, and top with bubbly. Now you will need quite a bit of time to get this to “freeze” and keep in mind that it might be a slushy freeze because of the bubbly.
You can even add 1/2 fruit juice and sparkling wine with your piece of fruit to help it freeze into a solid cube. For example, if you’re using orange juice, dice up an orange into cubes or wedges, place it into your ice cube tray, add some juice and some bubbly. If you’re using raspberries, add the raspberry, some raspberry lemonade and the rest sparkling wine.
This is such a great way to add something very simple to the mimosa and keep it chilled.
Sparkling Wine for Mimosas
Now typically for mimosas, I’d recommend brut because the juice is going to sweeten up that a bit. But if you know you have some people who LOVE sweet drinks, you can certainly pick up an extra dry or dry bottle of sparkling wine or prosecco.
I’ve always said that you don’t need an expensive bottle of sparkling wine when you’re making mimosas or mixing cocktails. But (and this is a big one) if it’s not a good tasting bottle of sparkling wine, it can ruin the drink. I always taste the bubbly by itself first. And these bottles listed below, I would absolutely drink on their own, but they also make a great bubbly cocktail.
Some bottles we keep on hand specifically to top our bubbly cocktails with are:
90 Plus Cellars Prosecco
LaMarca Prosecco Rosé
Menage a Trois Prosecco
Kirkland Prosecco (When I am at Costco, I usually try to grab one just to have for this purpose. )
Now, if I taste a bottle of bubbly and don’t love it, meaning I wouldn’t enjoy a glass on its own, before I dump it, I do try and turn it into a bubbly cocktail. Does it always work? No, it doesn’t. And typically you will need to add more than just juice. You will need to cut that taste with some liquor, juice and maybe even some simple syrup. Scroll down for some great brunch cocktail recipes that involve more than just bubbly and juice..
When we’re shopping for sparkling wine (our favorite thing to do, obviously) and we’re having a party, we know that each 750mL bottle serves 5 people one 5 oz pour. Since this is a mimosa bar, you will be able to stretch that a little.
One way we like to change things up and give a few more options with the mimosa bar is with splits. You can buy sparkling rosé and regular brut so that people can truly make a customized mimosa just for them.
TIP: Keep a couple “good” bottles of bubbly for those who don’t want to add any juice whatsoever. Or when you’re done with mimosas, but not done enjoying bubbly. Check out the blog post of the best grocery store champagne for all your stocking up needs.
Mimosa Bar
Now here’s what’s great about a mimosa bar, if you are having people over and don’t want to play bartender all day, it’s so easy to set up a mimosa bar.
- Bucket filled with ice to put your bottles of bubbly in.
- Juice Containers for each of your flavors of juice. Lids are super helpful too especially if you’re outside.
- Labels for the juice containers. I have always loved chalkboard signs that you can either put in front of the container or tie around the next of it.
- Glasses for each guest, of course. Now depending if this is inside or outside, that will dictate the type of glass you use.
If it’s outside, I’d go with a nice plastic flute or even an insulated one that they can take home as a little gift. There is a wide variety of glassware on our Amazon Storefront to choose from. And if it’s inside and you don’t feel like washing all the glassware after, it’s perfectly acceptable to choose the nice plastic flutes.
- Bowls for the frozen fruit. Make sure each fruit has it’s own bowl. Depending on the fruit you choose, you might need labels for these too.
- Cocktail Muddler for the guests who don’t want juice in their mimosa but would prefer some muddled fruit. You might want to have multiple ones or a glass with clean water that they can place it in once their done to rinse it off.
Now if you want to create some super fun and really “fancy” mimosas, these recipes are for you.
Hibiscus Mimosa
Now here’s the good news about this one, it’s not hard at all, but it’s so pretty. All you need to do is find Hibiscus flowers in Syrup (they’re linked on my Amazon Store) and you place the flower in the bottom of a champagne glass, add a 2-3 teaspoons of syrup to the glass, top with bubbly.
Such a fun drink if you’re celebrating Mother’s Day or your brunch theme is Hawaiian or beach wedding.
Raspberry Mint Mimosas
- 6 mint leaves
- 1/4 cup raspberries
- 2 oz lemonade
- 1-1.5 oz raspberry vodka
- Top with brut or rosé
Put the first 4 ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Shake well or muddle it then pour into a champagne glass (you can strain it or dump all the goodness into the glass) and top with bubbly.
TIP: Give the mint a good smack to “wake it up” before putting it into the shaker.
Another version of this making it a bit sweeter is:
- 6 mint leaves
- 1/4 c raspberries
- 1 oz chambord
- 1/2 oz simple syrup (you can leave it out if you don’t have it)
- Top with brut
Put the first 4 ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Shake well or muddle it, pour into a champagne glass and top with bubbly.
Raspberry Sorbet Mimosa
- Take your favorite sorbet/sherbet
- Top with bubbly or sparkling grape juice
Here’s what’s fun about this. You can have the sorbet/sherbet scooped out in the bottom of the glasses when the guests arrive. Not only is that convenient but it’s also super cute. And as a bonus, the ice cream will keep the bubbly chilled.
And if you have kids or those who aren’t drinking, topping this with sparkling grape juice is just as good. Our favorite combination is raspberry sorbet and Welch’s Sparkling Rosé.
Mimosa day is the perfect excuse to experiment with creating a mimosa bar or a few new, fun mimosa recipes…and it’s definitely a great reason to celebrate! Tag us in your celebration posts on Instagram and tell us which is your favorite….oh and if you make your mimosa the “real” way or the Vicki way.
Want More?
If you can’t tell, we love creating bubbly cocktail recipes and brunch is one of our favorite meals. For more easy mimosa recipes or brunch themed recipes, check out this post.
Are you wondering how much it’s going to cost just in the set up alone for a mimosa bar? Well, it doesn’t need to be crazy expensive. Our first stop is always the Dollar Tree. And if we can’t find what we need there, the next place is Target dollar section and then Amazon.
We do have an Amazon Storefront with many of our favorite things that we’ve used over the years and we also have a LTK shop with even more items that come from other stores. What I like best about LTK is if you like (or heart) an item, you will be notified when it goes on sale.
