There is no summer Party as a Sangria party. Once the summer hits, we all want some refreshing drink that will kill our thirst, but in the same time leave us sane, down to Earth and sober. And between hard liquor and beer, Sangria fits perfectly in the middle. Beer is just too common, and hard liquor is something you definitely want to avoid in the summer. That being said, I have five Sangria recipes that will beef up every party you throw.

Hard Liquor Sangria

The beauty here is that you are essentially drinking red Wine, but with some hard liquor inside.

Here are the ingredients:

- 1 lemon

- 1 lime

- 1 orange

- 750ml red wine

- 250ml orange juice

- 1 cup of rum

- ½ cup of sugar

How to do it?

  1. Start by cooling down the ingredients. Put the fruits, wine and rum in the fridge. Once they are cold enough, slice the lemon, lime and orange on thin slices. Put the slices in a large bowl.
  2. It is time to add sugar and rum. Leave the sugar and rum to mix their juices with fruit. Think of it like marinating your fruits.
  3. Mix the fruits in a bowl, and then add wine and orange juice. You can determine the sweetness/sourness with your wine choice and amount of sugar.

Spicy Sangria

This recipe is fairly similar to the first one, but the difference is in the spices you use.

Let’s take a look at the ingredients.

- 3 oranges

- 1 lemon

- 250gr sugar

- 1 bottle of red wine

- Spices

How to do it?

You are probably asking which spices to use. Well, you can try cinnamon, ginger, anise, vanilla, it all depends on your taste and aroma preference. I’d recommend not to mix spices. For example, if you want extremely spicy taste, go with ginger, vanilla is sweet, and cinnamon is something in between.

  1. Wash the oranges thoroughly in lukewarm water, and then slice them. Place them in a bowl, add the sugar, and let the oranges soak up the sugar for one hour.
  2. Squeeze one lemon into the bowl, mix, and then add red wine. I’d recommend mixing for few minutes just so the sugar dissolves into the sangria.

Sweet Sangria

When it comes to red wine sangria, this is my go-to recipe.

But I am a sucker for sweet things. I love chocolate, and I love sweet drinks. Ingredients:

- 1 lemon

- 1 apple

- 1 orange

- 1 teaspoon cinnamon

- 3 teaspoons of sugar

- 1l red wine

- 1l orange juice

How to do it?

First and foremost, I’d recommend buying some sweet red wine for best results.

  1. Start by peeling the fruits, and then chopping them on small cubes. Oranges and lemons can be challenging, but I am sure you can get there. Put all the chopped fruits in a large bowl.
  2. Add cinnamon and sugar to the bowl, and let the fruits soak up the sugar and cinnamon for one hour.
  3. Add red wine and orange juice, and serve with some ice cubes

White Wine Sangria

The first association with Sangria might be red wine, but when the summer hits, white wine is actually the preferred choice by many.

- 1 pear

- 1 orange

- 1 green apple

- A slice of watermelon

- Pineapple

- 1 lemon

- 1l white wine

How to do it?

  1. The first step towards this refreshing drink is to peel and chop the fruits (except the lemon).
  2. Squeeze the lemon on top of the fruits, and then add white wine. I must stress that the amount of pineapple and watermelon depends solely on you.
  3. Put the Sangria in the fridge, let it cool down for one hour and then serve.

Martha Stewart’s Sangria Recipe

Yes, that chef you see on TV constantly, also loves to prepare sangria. The recipe is a bit spicy, but if you are prone to experimenting, this might be a good thing. If not, this might be the time to start experimenting. Here are the ingredients.

- 1 bowl of tropical fruits (berries, mango, pineapple)

- 1 lemon

- Basil, mint or ginger

- ½ cup of orange liqueur

- 1l white wine

How to do it?

  1. Start by combining all the fruits in a large bowl or pitcher.
  2. Add spices, but choose only two of the basil, ginger, mint combo. Add orange liqueur. Mash until the basil/mint has released its juices into the mix.
  3. Squeeze the lemon into the mix, add wine, and refrigerate for one hour. Add ice cubes before serving.