I was asked to bring sangria for Thanksgiving. I have never made it, and don’t drink it. So I looked up recipes and picked and chose from the various recipes.
My sister was concerned because she thought Sangria was just wine and fruit with no extra rum added. I saw no recipes like that.
This stuff is hella potent straight and if you need to function at all, either cut the hell out of it with the ginger ale (or seltzer) or maybe avoid altogether.
The wine I used was not found in the merlot section of my local wine store. It was 2 aisles over with the box wines, pre-made sangria and other Boone’s Farm-level product. The bottle I bought was $6 for a magnum, so give you an idea of what we’re dealing with. If you use a regular wine, I saw burgundy suggested.
Jody’s Sangria
1 bottle (750ml) blackberry merlot
1 cup (give or take) Licor 43*
1 cup OJ
Sliced fruit**
Sugar to taste
Ginger ale
Mix up everything but the ginger ale. Add fruit an hour or so before serving. Keep it cold, and add ginger ale to each glass as you pour – 70/30ish was about the ratio I used. (It may have been 60/40.)
*Licor 43 is sweet and has botanicals (tastes of vanilla) so I used that instead of white rum and didn’t add sugar. You can reduce the amount of 43 for a less-strong Sangria.
**I soaked 1 each sliced plum, orange, lemon, lime and jarred cherries in spiced rum overnight, but I think that wasn’t needed. I’d probably not do lemon or lime next time, and soak in regular rum. (Apples and pears apparently soak up the alcohol more than cherries and plums.)
