Sangria is not an unknown sensation, especially across Latin parts of the world. Whether you find yourself in South America, Mexico or across Southern Europe you will find sangria in one form or another. The basics are as follows:
Wine,
Fruit juice,
Fresh fruit pieces,
Mixer
Classic sangria’s also primarily use red wines; however I prefer the lighter white wine sangrias that are becoming more and more popular. Whether it’s because you can add other spirits, or whether it’s because white wine doesn’t produce an unattractive colour when mixed with different juices; white wine sangrias are just becoming more and more popular…
You might think that this is a bad thing, but in fact it’s a great move. The use of white wines opens the door for the addition of spirits. Rum, Tequila, Vodka & all sorts of fruit liqueurs all have something to add to the world of sangria (just look at how many punches/pitcher cocktails there are!).
This post is a continuation of my previous Sangria blog, and will be aiming to show you how to use Tequila in sangria recipes…
So then, let’s get started…
We begin by taking the white wine sangria from my previous sangria blog:
750ml White wine
1 ½ cups white rum
1 ½ cups orange juice
½ cup white sugar
1 lemon, lime & orange (diced/sliced)
Optional: Selection of orchard fruits (apples, pears, plums etc.) to taste
Top up with lemonade (or sparkling wine for an added kick)
This recipe is very basic, but it covers all the basics already mentioned above. For a very simple Mexican Sangria, you could just switch out the rum for silver tequila. But I like my sangria a little more refined. And below are some recipes and tips that show why these sangria’s work.
Recipe 1: Especial Heaven
750ml Casillero Del Diablo Chardonnay*
500ml Jose Cuervo Especial Gold Tequila**
500ml Orange Juice
500ml Grapefruit Juice
250ml Cranberry Juice
½ cup Muscovado Sugar
2L Grapefruit soda to top
Lemon, Lime, Orange & Pink grapefruit slices (1 of each fruit sliced up)
Selection of preferred hard fruits: Apples, Pears, peaches, apricots etc…
Add the alcohol, juice and sugar into a bowl and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Then add the fruit and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Then, just before serving add the Grapefruit soda.
*Casillero Del Diablo Chardonnay 75cl (750ml): £7.99 from www.Tesco.com.
**Jose Cuervo Especial Gold Tequila 50cl (500ml): £14.00 from www.tesco.com.
This Chardonnay wine from Chile will work perfectly with the fragrant Especial tequila in this sangria. Its flavours blend in well with the fruits used and the nature of the tequila (agave, and other fruity notes) also lending themselves to the sangria’s overall taste.
Top Tip: Try to match the fruit to both the wine and the tequila. Look online (or on the bottle) for the fruity notes of both and try to use those fruits (as well as the basic citrus and orchard fruits).
Recipe 1: Reposado Royale
750ml Artesano De Argento Pinot Grigio
500ml El Jimador Reposado Tequila
½ cup Muscovado Sugar
500ml orange juice
500ml pineapple juice
250ml mango juice
250ml guava juice
Top up: Mateus Sparkling Rose
Orange, lemon, lime slices
Pineapple slices/chunks
Mango chunks
Blending exotic tropical flavours from the Argentinian Pinot Grigio blend well with the El Jimador Reposado and are topped off nicely with the creamy Mateus Rose’s apricot & strawberry flavours.
Top tip: Just because main flavours are tropical, don’t be afraid of using the creamier, softer berried flavours the rose wine supplied. It adds an extra layer, and greater depth in flavour to the sangria.
* Artesano De Argento Pinot Grigio 75Cl (750ml) £7.99 from www.Tesco.com.
**El Jimador Reposado 70Cl (700ml) £19.99 from www.sainsburys.co.uk (or almost any store).
***Mateus Sparkling Rose 75Cl (750ml) £8.29 from www.morrisonscellar.com.
Final Recipe – Silver Key Sauvignon Blanc:
750ml Sauvignon Blanc*
500ml Sierra Silver Tequila**
250ml Triple Sec***
½ cup Muscovado Sugar
500ml Orange Juice
500ml Grapefruit Juice
250ml Cranberry & Raspberry Juice
150ml Passoa (optional)
150ml Grenadine Syrup****
Top up: Any clear soda you like.
Lime, Lemon, Orange slices.
Soft berries: Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Apricots, Peaches, Greengages as well as a selection of citrus fruits (mandarin’s, satsuma’s and clementine’s work particularly well).
*Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough 75cl (750ml) £9.29 from www.sainsburys.co.uk
**Sierra Silver Tequila 50cl (500ml) £15.49 from www.sainsburys.co.uk
***Any triple sec you can find will suffice, I think for this De Kuyper/Bols work perfectly fine. Don’t waste your Cointreau on something like this!
****Try to be a little experimental with your choice of syrup. Grenadine works fine if you cannot get anything else, but try exotic flavours like Hibiscus & Kiwi (among others), check out this website for the hibiscus syrup: http://www.creamsupplies.co.uk/rosella-wild-hibiscus-syrup-300ml/prod_5491.html?category=
So that concludes the recipes… Now for some top tips:
1) Feel free to experiment, that’s how half of these recipes came about after all!
2) The use of fruit is essential, but it must be to you, and your guests’ tastes. If someone is allergic to Banana’s then don’t use them. (I know this one is a no-brainer but it happens!).
3) When making Mexican sangria remember: Tequila is king. Always use top quality tequila.
4) While tequila is king, you need fruity flavours. To accomplish this, use fruit liqueurs – don’t be afraid to add small amounts in. Stick to a 1-5 rule (for every 500ml of tequila use 100-150ml of the fruit liqueur).
5) Read the labels. Read the wine and tequila labels to work out what fruit to use in the mix. Also – always use the freshest fruit.
In summary I suppose I just want to say that the idea behind this post is that if you have the ingredients for great Mexican sangria’s (like those above) then fantastic – enjoy yourself, but for those that don’t; make sure you have the wine and tequila’s available and just use whatever else you can afford/have at hand!
Please feel free to leave comments as to what you thought of these recipes, or even just general feedback! I am enjoying some tequila nights here at home this week, so I’ll have some more Mexican themed posts on their way to you soon! Thanks for reading and keep a weather eye out!
Oh, and please remember to drink responsibly!
The Fervent Shaker 