Sangria!

Cafe Society
1

Mmm. I love sangria.

Do you have a method/recipe to share?

Mine is, per my wont, very dependent on what’s in the house. Any kind of bold red, any kind of brandy or fortified wine, something fizzy (cider, soda water, ginger beer), and fruit. This time of year, apples, pears and oranges prevail, with a squeeze of Meyer lemon. But when does it stop being sangria and start being fruit salad with wine-y dressing? I sometimes like a slug of St Germain for sweetness.

Mmm. And the best is eating the fizzy fruit at the bottom of the glass with a spoon. Mmm.

2

My favorite South Bay restaurant had a killer sangria. Took years of bugging the owner but the secret was Kern’s strawberry and peach nectar along with twice as much orange juice - and an equal amount of cheap red. Have also added pineapple, papaya, mango and even grapefruit juices in modest amounts. All good.

Even made ice cubes from it to keep it cold on hot days.

3

The cheapest red you can find.

Gaseosa. Spa Citron is the same thing. If you can’t find a drink consisting of water, gas, lemon juice and sugar, substitute Seven-Up or Sprite (Spaniards tend to find the result too sweet: going short on the fizzy and adding extra lemon juice compensates).

Orange juice to taste (one or two midsize navels or large navelinas per liter). Lemon juice, optional, less than orange.

Unofficial but popular parts of the recipe: middle of the road brandy (for Dionysus’ sake do not use the good stuff, but also not the kind of crap which can’t even legally call itself brandy) OR cheap but decent rhum OR dry anise (do not use the sweet kind; using sweet anise will make every deceased little old lady within eight hundred miles leave her grave and come haunt you).

If you use cocacola as the fizzy, the drink is called calimocho (Spanish) or kalimotxo (Basque). The ch/tx is pronounced like the ch in chocolate.

4

I do a white wine sangria:

slice up strawberries, apples and blood oranges. soak them in a bit of sugar (just a sprinkle) and brandy for a few hours. Dump that in the pitcher with a big bottle of cheap Pinot Grigio (or some other non-oaky white). Add in blood orange soda to taste.

Mmmmm… sangria.

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I made this one to rave reviews. I can’t drink red wine as it aggravates my rosacea.

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Or catemba in lusophone southern Africa (Mozambique, Angola) and by association, South Africa as well.

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Obligatory Sanford and Son clip:

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Calling MamaZappa! Her Sangria is the cornerstone of the neighborhood block parties . . .

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And here’s the obligatory link for those who want a manlier sangria… Mangria!

http://www.carolladrinks.com/Shop/Mangria

10

Hah! (or, Hic!).

My basic recipe (bear in mind, I like it sweet) is stunningly simple:

1 bottle sweet wine
1/2 cup liquor (brandy or more often Cointreau or similar)
1/2 cup juice.
Cut up fruit
Mix it all, chill, serve over ice.

My default is to use orange juice and orange liqueur. Mix that up depending on what you like - cranberry juice is nice (if you use plain cranberry juice, add a little sugar to taste).

For a white vs red sangria, similar ingredients. Interestingly, with a white sangria, I really preferred it cut slightly with ginger ale or lemon-lime soda, while a red sangria is perfect by itself.

I tried using peach schnapps + peach nectar a few times and the schnapps gave it an odd caramelized flavor which I didn’t like. Maybe that one would be better with regular brandy.

My default fruit is an apple, a lemon, and an orange cut into thin slices. Mix it up depending on the ingredients you’re throwing in: e.g. if you’re using peach nectar, some sliced peaches are nice and so on. I wouldn’t recommend whole cranberries, though if you simmered some with water and sugar until they pop that might be nice.

I usually slice the lemon differently from the orange (half round versus quarter) so people who wish to eat the fruit know which one they’re getting, as by the time the fruit is ready to be eaten it’s all purple anyway.

Bear in mind, Cointreau is a bit spendy; Triple Sec is cheaper but does not pack as much of an alcoholic punch - which may be a bug or a feature, depending on your aims. I haven’t compared the alcohol content of Cointreau vs regular brandy. I am not safe to drive after a glass of the stuff made with Cointreau (probably not with just Triple Sec either; I don’t try, in any case).

I would bet that apple cider + apple brandy + some ginger ale or ginger beer would be deelish but I have not tried it. Waiting for the next neighborhood party to try that.