Find the Perfect Mimosa for Your Morning

BY MEGHAN FITZGERALD

There are many debates that can be had over breakfast beverages—coffee or tea, cream or sugar, with pulp or without—but one of the most polarizing arguments might be over the perfectly balanced mimosa.

The mimosa, blending sparkling wine, such as Champagne or Prosecco, with juice, like orange or grapefruit, is a bright and refreshing way to start off breakfast or brunch but can be enjoyed any time you might need to fight off a case of the “scaries” or scurvy.

Quite simply, do you enjoy Champagne in your orange juice or do you enjoy orange juice in your Champagne?

Personally, I prefer the latter with a splash of peach schnapps.

These days, the term mimosa has grown to be more of a catchall term for any combination of fruit juice and sparkling wine, save for Bellinis, Rossinis and Tintorettos which stand out on their own, but they, too, deserve a place in the pantheon of breakfast beverages where you are limited only by your imagination. Simple and perfect, there are so many delicious mimosa variations out there that you’re going to want to opt for a flight.

After all, is any brunch complete without a glass of sparkles?

The Traditional

Sparkling wine is delicious all on its own, whether it’s Spanish Cava, French Champagne, or Italian Prosecco. No argument. However, add a splash of juice to that glass and somehow that wine seems to sparkle even more.  The classic mimosa is a double act, featuring sparkling wine and juice, typically orange, and complements just about any dish at brunch.

Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar offers a weekend brunch at their various locations throughout Spokane, including Downtown, the Valley, the South Hill, and Wandermere. Mimosa flavors include orange, huckleberry, strawberry, pineapple, and grapefruit. Traditional or slightly twisted, your favorite is only a request away and can be paired perfectly with their Candied Bacon French Toast or Blue Crab Benedict.

The Innovative

Perhaps your taste transcends ‘slightly twisted’ and you are looking for something both delicious and divisive. Fortunately, there is a time and place for such trailblazing. It’s between 7am and 2pm at Bruncheonette, located at 1011 W. Broadway Ave in Spokane.

When your breakfast options include delightfully zany combinations like Tamale Waffles and Blueberry-Cardamom French Toast, you need a mimosa menu that also delivers some surprises. Chef-Owner Joile Forral and the gang at Bruncheonette are always whipping up fun seasonal concoctions like their Irish Wonderland Mimosa, with Irish whiskey, blackberry liqueur, lemon simple syrup and Cava, and the Caramel Apple Pie Mimosa, featuring brown sugar bourbon, apple juice, caramel apple butter and Cava, but there are plenty of other options like the Juicy POG, a blend of pineapple and orange juice with orange liqueur and Cava that can be enjoyed year-round alongside their signature Bacon Sticky Bun, baked fresh every morning.

The Flight

Having the great fortune to live in a veritable mimosa mecca, we can regularly check to see if we’ve missed a new favorite flute. After all, tastes change and drinks evolve. Oftentimes, to sample is to strike gold.  Enter, the mimosa flight, a specialty at the Yards Bruncheon, located at 1248 W Summit Pkwy in Kendall Yards. The flight includes three flavors of your choice from the menu, the options of which range from the simple to the decadent and include everything from orange to green tea.  A glance through the extensive selection only encourages you to order the flight, as well as the full breakfast, which includes a little bit of everything, from eggs to sausage to potatoes.

The Seasonal

‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year’ certainly applies whenever a specialty drink comes back into vogue for the year. Pumpkin Spice, anyone? How about a Shamrock Shake?  The limits applied to the drink’s availability sprinkle our daily routine with a sense of festive urgency we look forward to in the same way we look forward to dressing up for Halloween or decorating the tree for Christmas. Similar to coffee and milkshakes, mimosas are subject to change as soon as the season does, too. Spring is the time for flavors as refreshing as the season, such as grapefruit and pear, while summer calls for a cool, tropical beverage, such as mango and pineapple. Fall is dominated by the usual suspects, such as pumpkin and caramel, and winter wraps up the rotation with yuletide delights, such as cranberry and peppermint. The Historic Davenport Hotel is known for tailoring the menu to reflect the season, offering Sunday brunch throughout the year, which includes a number of signature dishes from eggs benedict to cinnamon roll french toast, not to mention bottomless mimosas! 

The DIY

Whether you’re an undiscovered talent at home or not, if you can pour a glass of bubbles, it’s guaranteed you can mix up your own mimosa. Simply fill a flute 30-70% with sparkling wine, depending on preference, and then add juice to taste, again, depending on preference.  No stirring required. Feel free to include seasonal fruit, such as raspberries or slices of pear, and/or a splash of flavored schnapps, such as watermelon or apple, if you’re feeling particularly fancy.

With so many options available, the only wrong way to enjoy a mimosa is to not enjoy a mimosa at all!

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