You know it’s time to make some Easy Red Sangria when the sun comes out! Cut, muddle, pour and sip. It goes down so well!
Holidays with sangria
Sunshine, holidays and fun are all associated with sangria. Oh, and sexy Spanish people, but that goes without saying! Whenever I am on holiday, I can never resist ordering a pitcher of ice-cold sangria.
You would never guess where I had the best tasting sangria. Nope, it wasn’t in Spain, actually; it wasn’t even in Europe. It was at the Park Royal hotel in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. I can’t promise you it was authentic, but oh boy, it was incredible. They served it in a huge wine glass but it had one huge mystery fruit in it. On closer observation, it looked to me as they peserved plum in aged red wine. Whatever it is, it was divine and I could’ve stayed there and keep sipping endless glasses of that liquid gold. It was flawless that I often think of that glass of sangria.
8 years later, I stopped briefly at KL with my husband, Tomasi. I was extremely excited to visit Park Royal again just for their Sangria. Sadly, they changed their recipe because it wasn’t the same, don’t you hate that?!
If only I could recreate the first sangria I had in Malaysia, but I wouldn’t know where to start! It had so much depth and complexity! But that’s okay because this Easy Red Sangria we have here tasted pretty damn good, and it takes less than 5 minutes to prepare.
You don’t need incredible bartending skills to make this sangria! nor do you need any fancy equipment. We just muddle it up in a large glass or pitcher and mix. Toss in some ice and pour yourself a generous amount.
Sangria it your way!
You probably already know that there are millions of different versions of Sangria recipes online. Many of which claim to be the best and traditional. Although this recipe is superb, I will not go that far as to make that bold ‘best’ claim as I need to make and drink way more sangrias before doing so. What I can promise you is that this mix is a cinch to make and is delightful on the taste buds.
This sangria has the right balance of sweetness and the alcohol is not too overpowering, but you know it’s there. It’s also fruity, but it doesn’t have that cheap and basic taste if that makes any sense!
There are no exotic fruits needed here, just orange and apple. Dammit, I may have lied a little because I just remembered I used blood orange and I think that’s considered a little fancy!
Blame Tomasi for that one because he recently purchased 10 blood oranges. They were on sale for $2.50 a kilo, so he surprised me with them. He goes ‘I got you a couple of blood oranges for your blog’. Since when did a couple mean 10? not that I’m complaining as I can’t resist a good bargain!
When do parents of a toddler get time to drink?
When you have an almost 2-year-old troublemaker running around constantly up to mischief, it’s probably best we stay 100% sober at all times!
We only and rarely sneak drinks in when our toddler, Kai, has called it a day and has passed out from causing havoc in our world. Plus, it’s not safe to drink when he is around, as he always makes a beeline towards our food or drinks. He somehow has figured out that our food and drinks taste much better than his own!
Before the pandemic and Kai, Tomasi and I would travel overseas every year, or sometimes even twice a year. When we do, we always take advantage of the cheap duty-free alcohol. We have so many bottles of liqueur and spirits that we purchased a custom buffet and hutch to display them in.
When Tomasi and I do zoom meetings together, we usually do them in front of the buffet and hutch as it’s near the dinner table and it’s spacious. So when Kai was 6-months-old, we had a zoom meeting with a nurse for a general check-up. The nurse goes, ‘That’s an impressive collection behind you’. We both simultaneously turned around to see what she was talking about and when we realised, we laughed awkwardly. Then Tomasi joked and said ‘That’s my wife’s collection.’ Thankfully, she saw the funny side of it.
The funny thing is we are not huge drinkers at all. We just love collecting each unique bottle and offering them to our guests. I’m more of a wine person and Tomasi loves his beer. We do making cocktails on special occasions and ordering them when on holiday.
Ingredients for Easy Red Sangria
Red wine – The best tasting red sangria helps when you use your favourite bottle of red wine but it doesn’t have to be an expensive bottle. If you don’t have a ‘go to’ red, I would recommend a dry and slightly sweet wine, such as merlot or pinot noir. If you want to keep things traditional, use Spanish wine ‘Garnache’.
Fresh orange juice – Avoid reconstituted or long-life orange juices. Freshly squeezed juice is more expensive, but it tastes so much better.
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Brandy or white rum is what they have in most Sangrias. I prefer brandy, but you may use rum if preferred, just swap for equal amounts.
Chambord (optional) – Chambord is a liqueur from France made from black raspberry. You may skip this or add other liqueur such as orange (Grand Marnier or Cointreau) for extra depth and flavour.
How to make Easy Red Sangria
Step-by-step guide with photos
In a large glass or bowl, add in the sugar, orange and apple slices. Using a muddler or the back of a wooden spoon, muddle the sugar and fruits until most of the sugar dissolves. Pour in the brandy and Chambord and muddle again to mix. Some of the fruit slices may break but that’s okay because you want to squish flavour out from them.
Pour in the orange juice and the wine, stir well, then add in some ice cubes (optional) and serve. For the flavours to develop, you can prepare this the night before without the ice cubes and cover it with plastic film.
Looking for some delicious snacks to serve with this sangria? try these impressive Smoked Salmon Canapés with Caviar or if you love potatoes you’re in for a treat with Salt and Vinegar Smashed Potatoes
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.
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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre
EASY RED SANGRIA
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp caster sugar (superfine or regular white sugar)
- 1 small orange (skin on sliced into 8 wedges)
- 1 small apple (skin on sliced into thin wedges)
- ¼ cup brandy (NOTE 1)
- ¼ cup chambord (NOTE 2)
- 1 cup fresh orange juice (NOTE 3)
- 750 ml red wine (NOTE 4)
- Ice cubes
Instructions
- In a large glass or bowl, add in the sugar, orange and apple slices. Using a muddler or the back of a wooden spoon, muddle the sugar and fruits until most of the sugar dissolves. Pour in the brandy and chambord and muddle again to mix. Some of the fruit slices may break but that's okay because you want to squish flavour out from them.
- Pour in the orange juice and the wine, stir well, then add in some ice cubes (optional) and serve. For the flavours to develop, you can prepare this the night before without the ice cubes and cover it with plastic film.
