Seelbach

No. Seven Angostura and seven Peychaud's is the recipe, and it is the whole idea. Here the bitters work as an ingredient rather than a seasoning, supplying the clove-and-anise spine and the pink cast. Use fewer and you have bourbon with fizz on top.

Not remotely. The wine is doing 90 ml of duty as a lengthener against a very assertive base, so a dry cava or cremant handles it at a third of the price. Go brut. Anything with real toasty complexity is simply wasted in here.

That is the strongest argument for the drink. Mix the bourbon, orange liqueur and both bitters in a bottle, keep it in the fridge, then pour 45 ml per glass and top with sparkling wine. Nobody should be counting dashes fourteen times at a party.

Drinkable, and noticeably duller. Peychaud's brings anise and a floral, almost cherry sweetness along with the color, and it offsets Angostura's baking spice. Doubling the Angostura instead makes the whole thing taste like a clove cigarette. Buy the small bottle.

A classic Seelbach calls for 30 ml (1 oz) Bourbon, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Triple sec / Cointreau, 7 dashes Angostura Angostura bitters, 7 dashes Peychaud's Peychaud's bitters, 90 ml (3 oz) Champagne. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Seelbach is roughly 22% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it spirit-forward — closer to a Martini than to a beer, so sip it slowly.

A Seelbach is built directly in the glass over ice — no shaker required. Add the ingredients in order and give it a brief, gentle stir.