Simple Mexican Sangria

Ardenstone — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 02:32:10 +0000

Sangria is one of those drinks with a thousand variations. While normally the drink is a bit like a red wine fruit salad, this version is much more pared down. I actually came across it in the Wall Street Journal of all places. Now, sangria isn’t my typical type of drink. Red wine and citrus fruits both tend to do bad things to my teeth, so I generally avoid them in any real concentration. This version doesn’t help that, but but one night’s indulgence was certainly worth it.

1 bottle of red wine, preferably Spanish
juice of 6 limes
zest from peels of 2 limes
4 Tbs of sugar

Mix them all together in a pitcher with ice. Wait for it to cool down and either serve as is or through a strainer to remove the zest (depending on how chewy you like your wine).

We forget the ice part, and just chilled the bottle first which was the wrong move. The lime and wine are a little to aggressive that way, but the sugar mellows things out enough to make this an enjoyable drink. As a note, we had medium-small limes, and the proportions came out just fine. Finally, it’s probably easier to zest the two limes first and then juice them as the juicing process tends to tear up the peel.

Mulled Wine (in use)

Ardenstone — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 21:33:41 +0000

Ok, it’s nowhere near as cool as the rhyming version, but here is the recipe for Mulled Wine I’ve been tinkering with:

Mulled Wine

8 cups (about 2.5 bottles) red wine (you want something decent, fruity and cheap. Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon is what I’m going to try next)
1 cup of brandy (I use Asbach Uralt)
1/2 cup sugar (this should probably be brown sugar, but I haven’t tried that, yet)
3 cinnamon sticks
8 whole cloves
1 orange (sliced)
1/2 lemon (sliced)
dash of allspice
1/2 tsp or so of freshly ground nutmeg

Pour it all together and try to warm it. This is where I’m still having some difficulty, as you need to get it as hot as possible without boiling the alcohol off (look for white steam). On an electric stove (suckage) it’s a click or so above low. I let all this heat up for about an hour before serving.

It should be noted that this is very tasty, especially on a cold fall evening. See that cup of brandy? It’s why everyone is tipsy.

ardenstone » red wine

Simple Mexican Sangria

Mulled Wine (in use)