Sangria Wine

In the words of Jerry Jeff Walker,

Yeah, I love that sangria wine

Love to drink it with ol’ friends of mine

Yeah, I love to get drunk with friends of mine

When we’re drinkin’ that ol’ sangria wine

Following Jerry Jeff’s loose lyrical recipe I have gone on to develop my own Sangria Wine.

1 Bottle of Red Wine

8oz Brandy

3oz Everclear

2 Tablespoons of Sugar

Add the juice of 1 Lime and 1 Lemon

Add 1 sliced Lime and 1 Lemon

Add 1 sliced Apple
Sprite

I like to add the wine, brandy, everclear and sugar first so that I can get a good stir going to dissolve the sugar. I’ll then add the fruit and let it sit in the fridge as long as I can before the party (even the night before works great).  I avoid adding ice to the pitcher as to avoid it getting watered down, plus the ice will prevent any of the fruit from pouring into the drinker’s cup. I usually just put the pitcher of Sangria out next to a bottle of Sprite so people can mix it to their strength (this also keeps the sprite from going flat).

A cheap but tasty red wine is all that is needed, if you want to stray a little more towards an authentic Sangria try out a Spanish Rioja.

Courvoisier, Hennessy, Martell, and Rémy Martin are all good makers of French Brandy a.k.a. Cognac. Or you can save some dough by using E&J’s, it's still quite tasty.

On to the Everclear, I know, I know…. You’re looking at me like, “I’m not in College anymore”. Well that’s fine and all, but you’re missing out on what makes Sangria fun. Two shots of Everclear will not drastically change the strength of this Sangria. However, if you consider yourself a lightweight, just add more Sprite to your cup, that way you don’t ruin everyone else’s fun.

As far as the Sugar is concerned, the more the merrier. I start at 2 Tablespoons and go from there. The finer the Sugar, the better it will dissolve.

On to the fruit, you can add absolutely anything you like. However, I find that the Lemon and Lime additions are non-negotiable.