The beauty of sangria is its simplicity.
Red wine, liqueur, and fruit served over ice pretty much sums up the drink.
For me, thats exactly why its wonderful.
Alison Bickle
No fancy herbal infusions.
No special ingredients to hunt down.
What Is Sangria?
Alison Bickle
What Is the Best Wine for Sangria?
For this recipe, I use red wine as the base.
Traditionally, sangria is made with a Spanish wine called Rioja.
Alison Bickle
You definitely want to go above the MadDog 20/20 price point but below the $35 bottle Pinot.
I spent $14 on the bottle I used for this recipe, and it was perfect.
Orange Liqueur or Brandy?
Alison Bickle
I love a Spanish liqueur called Licor 43.
Cointreau is my second favorite choice.
Its readily available at most liquor stores and supermarkets.
Alison Bickle
It also has a lovely orange flavor that boosts the fruitiness in this drink.
You cant go wrong with either Licor 43 or Cointreau in this recipe.
A lot of sangria recipes call for brandy.
Alison Bickle
What Is the Best Fruit for Sangria?
Citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons are common additions to sangria.
They add color and flavor to the drink immediately, but also over time.
Alison Bickle
The longer fruit and spices sit in the boozy concoction, the more complex and fruity the flavor becomes.
I dont do it at the beginning, because I want to keep the fruits pretty for presentation purposes.
Halfway through a pitcher of sangria, and no one cares what anything looks like!
How To Make Sangria
Sangria is one of the easiest cocktails to make!
Pour sugar into a pitcher.
Add a couple of cinnamon sticks, then the booze and orange juice.
Stir to combine, and top it all off with some orange slices.
(Bubly is my favorite carbonated water brand, mostly because its friendly.
The tabs say hi, or hey, but I digress.)
How Long Will Sangria Last?
Love Sangria?
Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin from two of the oranges in long strips.
ensure you leave the white pith on the orange.
You want the strips to be thin, about 1/2-inch wide, and long enough to twist.
Slice in half the oranges you just peeled and the two oranges that remain unscathed, then juice them.
The four oranges should give you about 1 cup of juice.
If you have a little more or a little less than 1 cup, thats okay.
Put the orange peels in a covered container and place them in the fridge.
In a large pitcher, add the sugar, cinnamon sticks, wine, Cointreau, and orange juice.
Stir to combine and let the sugar dissolve.
Add the orange slices.
This is optional, but the flavors really develop over time, making this sangria even more delicious.
Put it in the fridge, covered, for 2 hours or up to 4 days.
Sangria is pretty boozy.
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