Cranberry Apple Sangria … All Gone!
December 2, 2008
Despite the temptation I had to make a variety of dishes for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner, I listened to reason and limited myself to just two small contributions to the meal. Since most of my Aunts and cousins already had everything covered, and since I had to leave at 5am on Thanksgiving morning to take a six-hour drive down to my parents’ house, I stuck to just making a “happy” beverage and appetizer.
As you can tell by the title of this post, my Cranberry Apple Sangria was a hit! One of the main reasons that I’m posting this is because several people wanted the recipe. After the first sip from everyone’s glass, eyes brightened up and lively chatter began.
The key to getting this response from the sangria – aside from the red wine, brandy and triple sec – was the blend of cranberry juice and apple cider and the spicy flavor of cinnamon and cloves. I infused the simple syrup with the spices as well as added two cinnamon sticks to the fully mixed sangria before putting it in the refrigerator to let the juices and spirits meld together. This sangria is sure to liven up any holiday party you may have coming up.
Cranberry Apple Sangria
2 bottles (750 ml each) red wine
1 cup brandy
1/2 cup triple sec
1 cup cranberry juice cocktail (100% juice)
1 cup apple cider or apple juice
Juice of 1/2 orange (large)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup simple syrup infused with cinnamon and cloves (recipe below)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 – 2 slices of orange studded with 5 cloves along the rind
1/2 apple, cored and cut into 1/4? thick slicesIn a large pitcher add the red wine, brandy, triple sec, cranberry juice, apple cider, orange juice, lemon juice and simple syrup. Stir well, then add the orange and apple slices along with the cinnamon sticks. Stir well once more. Refrigerate for 1 – 2 hours before serving.
Cinnamon & Clove Infused Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 cinnamon sticks
6-8 clovesAdd sugar, water, cinnamon sticks and cloves to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil on medium-high to high heat for 3 minutes, then lower temperature and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let spices steep in the simple syrup for 15 minutes.
Pour simple syrup along with the spices in a bowl or container and allow to cool. Once cool, use as needed in sangria or other beverages such as tea.
Filed Under Beverages | 4 Comments Print This Post
Comments
Deprecated: ltrim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/flavlov4/public_html/wp-includes/wp-db.php on line 3030
4 Responses to “Cranberry Apple Sangria … All Gone!”
This reminds me so much of a German drink my aunt makes around the holidays called gluewhein. I will definitely try this recipe. Hmmmm, I wonder how Grand Marnier would taste in this?! I guess I will have to try it and let you know how it comes out.. Thx Flavor Diva!
I tried this this year and I couldn’t make enough! And we didn’t even have that many people over….That tells you just how delicious it was. Great recipe! Although I had to add juice to cut the brandy taste – it was a little too strong.
I’m glad you enjoyed it Deidre!
I’m making this tonight and will add the fruit tomorrow before our part tomorrow. It sounds wonderful, and I’m kind of new to sangria. Can you tell me: is it normal to make sangria without something fizzy like club soda or ginger ale? It seems like most recipes have one of those added….just want to make sure I’m not missing something. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!