Sangria is the archetypal summer drink. It even looks like summer, with its glowing red body dotted with bobbing slices of lemon and orange, or with apples and raspberries if you’re the adventurous type.
It’s also responsible for some killer hangovers as many people put spirits in it – often brandy or rum – as well. This is why this warning is here:
Drink some water while you’re muddling your fruit!
OK, with that out of the way, here’s how to make the perfect sangria that’ll become a mainstay of your barbecues from now on.
The ingredients
One lemon, sliced
One lime, sliced
One orange (you know the drill…)
1.5 cups of rum
0.5 cup of sugar
One bottle of chilled dry red wine
One cup of chilled orange juice
You can try different fruits and fruit juices, or different spirits, as you become more familiar with the techniques and you work out what you like most.
Obviously if you’re expecting a large crowd, then simply scale up the quantities. If you prefer a less alcoholic beverage, then omit the spirit or add more fruit juice. Some people add fizzy water to their sangria and over in the UK they sometimes add fizzy orange sodas – those crazy Brits, eh?
The method
You start by muddling your fruit slices in the sugar and rum. Muddling basically means squashing to release the juice and the flavour into the rum and to melt the sugar. Once everything’s good and muddled (should take 30-45 seconds), you should leave it in the chiller for at least a couple of hours (some people leave it overnight) for everything to combine.
Then, you simply pour the chilled wine and orange juice over the fruit slice, sugar and rum mixture and stir gently to mix. Don’t mix too hard or the sangria could become cloudy.
Finally, you’re ready to serve – pour the sangria into chilled glasses with plenty of ice cubes in.
Then enjoy – responsibly, of course.