Red Sangria
A fruity and spicy wine & sparkling cocktail ∙ Warm up ∙ 4 min ∙ 11.3% ABV ∙
This Red Sangria is red wine heated with aloe juice, apple, tangerine, whole spices, honey and cinnamon syrups, and spiced rum, then cooled and served over ice.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pour into a saucepan all ingredients: Red wine 750 mlAloe juice 250 mlFresh apple 1 pcFresh tangerine 3 pcsCinnamon stick 2 pcsCloves 6 pcsStar anise 3 pcsHoney syrup 75 mlAllspice 4 pcsCinnamon syrup 50 mlSpiced rum 100 ml
- Heat to 80 °C over high heat
- Leave to cool at room temperature
- Pre-chill a jug
- Fine strain into the ice-filled jug
- Garnish with a mint sprig
Tips
- Heat only to about 80°C and never let it boil, or the wine's alcohol and aroma cook off.
History
Sangria is often traced to hippocras, a spiced, sweetened wine drunk through the Middle Ages as a way to make often rough or unsafe wine more palatable. The name comes from the Spanish word for blood, sangre, a reference to the deep red color of the red-wine punch. The term itself is traced to 18th-century Spain, with some accounts linking an early precursor to a wine "lemonade" from the medieval Kingdom of León. From Spain and Portugal the drink spread through their colonies in the Americas. A related English-Caribbean version called sangaree, built on Madeira or port with sugar, citrus, and sometimes rum, developed under British colonization and became popular in places like Barbados.
Sangria entered wide American awareness at the 1964 New York World's Fair, where the Spanish Pavilion served it to visitors, a moment widely credited with popularizing the drink in the United States. It has since become closely associated with Spanish identity abroad, even though within Spain itself it is consumed less by locals than by tourists, and countless regional and modern variations, including white and sparkling versions, have grown from the original red-wine base.
FAQ
What ingredients are in red sangria?
Red wine (750 ml), aloe juice (250 ml), and spiced rum (100 ml), sweetened with 75 ml honey syrup and 50 ml cinnamon syrup. The fruit and spices are one apple, three tangerines, two cinnamon sticks, six cloves, three star anise, and four allspice.
How do you make a red sangria drink?
Combine the red wine, aloe juice, fresh fruit, spices, honey syrup, cinnamon syrup, and spiced rum in a saucepan and heat to about 80°C. Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then fine-strain it into a pre-chilled jug filled with ice and finish with a mint sprig.
What is the best red wine to use in sangria?
A medium-bodied, fruit-forward red such as a Rioja, Garnacha, or Merlot works well, since its fruit character holds up against the spices and sweeteners. Avoid heavily oaked or tannic reds, which can turn bitter once warmed with the honey and cinnamon syrups this recipe uses.
What is the best alcohol for red sangria?
Red wine as the base, with 100 ml spiced rum per 750 ml bottle to deepen the warmth of the mulled spices.
What is the secret to a good sangria?
Enough sweetness to soften the wine's tannins without hiding the fruit and spice; here that is 75 ml honey syrup and 50 ml cinnamon syrup per bottle. Strain out the solids once it has cooled, which keeps the sangria clear and stops the spices turning it bitter.
What are common mistakes when making sangria?
Letting the wine boil is the main one; keep the heat around 80°C. Others include straining while still hot, which melts the ice and dilutes the drink, and leaving fruit or spices in too long, which can turn the sangria bitter.
