Agua de Valencia

Spanish Champagne Cocktail
As the name suggests Agua de Valencia comes from the Valencia region. Apparently the history of the drink can be traced back to Café Madrid in Valencia in the late 1950s. It seems that a group of Basques who frequented the bar used to order “Agua de Bilbao”. The owner, Constante Gil, suggested one evening that they try his home made cocktail, “Agua de Valencia”, which he made up for them. Today it is a very popular drink on the Valencia bar circuit.

The drink can be quite lethal so take it easy with the Cointreau and add plenty of orange juice. Some bars may add vodka or gin rather than Cointreau.

We first made this drink when we were going for dinner with a few friends and family, many of whom didn’t actually know each other. Everybody met in our apartment beforehand and we made Agua de Valencia as an ice breaker. Needless to say it did the trick and we were all good friends within a very short time.

Agua de Valencia Ingredients

For approximately 1 litre/1¾ pints

• 1 bottle of Cava – Spanish champagne
• Orange Juice – freshly squeezed if possible but a carton works almost as well
• Cointreau
• Ice

Preparation

Put a good amount of ice (a couple of handfuls) into a large jug or punch bowl. Add the bottle of Cava, plenty of fresh orange and some Cointreau (play it safe with the Cointreau as this can become a very potent drink).  You can also add a little vodka or gin if you like.

Obviously you can experiment with the quantities of each liquid to get it just the way you prefer.