22 Jan How to Make Sangria the Star of the Party

If you are having a party, you may feel like you need to buy expensive ingredients to make cocktails.  This can become quite expensive if you are serving 10 or 20 people. You can make a punch, but will it make the impression you want?  

That punch can make a very good impression if you choose to make sangria. This is a traditional party drink in countries like Spain and Portugal. There are a few rules, but it’s easy to make, and you may be able to create it out of ingredients in your bar and refrigerator plus the necessary bottles of red wine. 

What You Need:

The best sangria starts with a really good red wine.  If you want a really strong start, you will need a good Cabernet Sauvignon.  This wine is denser than most wines. It is rich in tannins and that helps it be stronger in taste than other wines.

Next, you’ll decide what you want to mix with it.  To keep it simple, you can just get a sparkling water, sugar, and some citrus fruit.  The fruit is sliced into rounds. A handful or so of good berries is added as well.  To that, you add six to eight ounces of sparkling water.  Many people will then add half a cup of sugar dissolved in a cup of warm water.  

If you are serving it right away, add some ice cubes. If not, wait until it’s time to serve before adding some ice. 

For a stronger mixture, you can add liquor to the wine.  The advantage of doing this is you can go further with watering it down.  That same two bottles of good red wine can be mixed with 1.5 cups of brandy, 12 ounces of 7Up or Sprite, and two cups of orange juices.  For best results, mix this one early and let the brandy and the wine flavors intermingle.

You’ll also want to add orange slices to the mix. At least enough to have it floating on the top.  You can also add pineapple, lime and lemons.  

Rum instead of brandy

Some would recommend rum instead of brandy. If you do that, the proportions will be about the same. Rum has a very strong taste, however, and you can cut back to a cup or three-quarters cup. Fruit absorbs rum very well, and you could start early by soaking your fruit in the rum before adding the wine.  This should let you add less rum overall while being sure you’ll have the taste throughout the punch.

On the other hand, if you want something less sweet, you could go with Vodka or gin. You can cut back to a quarter cup per bottle of wine.   

The next part of making sangria the star of the party is how you serve it.  A glass punch bowl is pretty. Glass pitchers would be better.  You can offer wine glasses or lowball glasses.  If you are serving, you can put a round of fruit on the rim to dress it up.

Next time you want to have an impromptu party, you can make it really special with sangria. It’s a good habit to get into.