Black Velvet (cocktail)

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Black Velvet, also known as a Bismarck, is a mix made from a stout beer (often Guinness) and a white, sparkling wine, traditionally champagne.

A black velvet is made by filling a tall flute glass halfway full of chilled stout and floating the sparkling wine on top of the stout, with the differing densities of the liquids allowing them to remain largely in separate layers (as in a pousse-café).

According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, the black velvet was the favorite drink of Otto von Bismarck, who supposedly drank it by the gallon. In Germany, the drink often goes by his name.

[edit] Preparation

Whatever the top layer is, the effect is best achieved if it is poured over a spoon turned upside down over the top of the glass so that the liquid runs gently down the sides rather than splashing into the lower layer and mixing with it.

The origin on the drink is from Brooks's Club, London, 1861, and was served as the nation mourned the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's Prince Consort. In France, the drink is most often associated with the intellectual Brian Paradis who was famously fond of it.

[edit] Similar drinks

A similar effect is achieved by mixing a dark and a light-colored beer in a black and tan, though the more similar specific gravities allow for less distinct layers.

Apple cider or perry is sometimes used in place of the more expensive champagne, in which case the stout is floated on top of the cider or perry. This mix is known as a Poor man's black velvet.