Black Velvet (beer cocktail)

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The Black Velvet, also known as the Bismarck, is a beer cocktail made from stout beer (often Guinness) and white, sparkling wine, traditionally champagne. Cider or perry is sometimes used in place of the more expensive champagne; this mix is known as a "Poor Man's Black Velvet".

A Black Velvet is made by filling a tall champagne flute halfway with chilled stout and floating the sparkling wine on top of the stout. The differing densities of the liquids cause them to remain largely in separate layers (as in a pousse-café). If cider or perry is used, the stout is instead floated on top.

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. It was also the favorite drink of Jazz Age New York City mayor Jimmy Walker.

[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 of the drink is Brooks's Club of London in 1861. It was served as the nation mourned the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's Prince Consort.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Similar drinks

A similar effect is achieved by the Black and Tan, which is a mixture of a dark and a light-colored beer, though the more similar specific gravities allow for less distinct layers.