Photo by Velo Steve.

What would New Year’s be without sparkling wines? But when you’re keeping an eye on the budget, sometimes you’re stuck with less than perfect examples of the fine work the monks had intended.

There are some goodies to be had inexpensively and NYT’s Eric Asimov published a guide to champagnes under $40.

But you can also mod your bubbly by transforming it into a cocktail. Ring in the new year with some of these classics. They’re funky enough to be a conversation piece by themselves.

Champagne Cocktail
Obviously one of the best things about champagne is the bubbles. The sugar cube in the champagne/sparkling wine gives your drink a little extra pop.

1 sugar cube
Couple of dashes of bitters (traditionally this is Angostura or Peychaud’s, but you can also go with a favorite flavor such as cherry, rhubarb, lemon, or orange)
Champagne/sparkling wine
1 lemon twist (optional)

Place the sugar cube on a napkin and drip the bitters on top to saturate the cube. Put the cube in the bottom of the glass and top off with champagne. Watch as your champagne transforms into a lightened shade of your bitters. (This makes me partial to Peychaud’s, cherry or rhubarb, since they yield a lovely pink drink.) Garnish with lemon twist.

Death in the Afternoon
This cocktail, featuring absinthe, is a Hemingway classic. Papa recommended sipping three to five of these cocktails slowly. For those with less than gargantuan livers, I’d recommend sticking to one.

1.5 oz. absinthe
4 ounces of champagne/sparkling wine

Pour absinthe into champagne flute and top off with champagne. Watch for the green fairy, as your drink becomes slightly milky and opaque. And in the tradition of absinthe drinking, it wouldn’t be inappropriate to drop in a sugar cube to make the sparks fly.