One of Dayton’s favorite bartenders shows you how to wow your guests for the holidays

Looking for easy way to wow your guests this holiday season, with easy-to-find ingredients in Dayton? 

Then boy, does Tess Vella-Collette, a bartender and assistant general manager at Corner Kitchen in the Oregon District, have some recipes for you. 

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The champagne-loving, great grub connoisseur writes the fresh and lively blog Ciao Vella.

The downtown Dayton resident shared her recipes for a Rosemary Gimlet and a simple champagne cocktail on a recent Dayton.com Facebook Live. The step-by-step recipes are below. 

Tess’ Holiday Champagne Cocktail

- 1 tsp of sugar or a few sugar cubes

- 6-8 dashes angostura bitters

- champagne, cava, prosecco or sparkling wine

- lemon or orange peel 

Tess Vella-Collette's Holiday Champagne cocktail: (Robinson, Amelia (CMG-Dayton))

Place sugar in bottom of flute, dredge with bitters, top with champagne and use peel as a twist to garnish 

Vella-Collette likes to use sparkling rose to add a more festive punch with the beautiful pink color.

Rosemary Gimlet

Tess Vella-Collette's Rosemary Gimlet (Robinson, Amelia (CMG-Dayton))

- 2 oz. gin or vodka

- 1 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice

- 1 oz. rosemary simple syrup*

In cocktail tin, combine all ingredients, add ice, and shake it like a Polaroid picture. Pour everything into a rocks glass, garnish with lime wedge or rosemary sprig. 

*To make simple syrup: combine equal parts sugar and hot water, stir to combine. Add herb of choice and let cool for at least 1 hour.

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Tess Vella-Collette's blog can be found at CiaoVella.wordpress.com