{"id":6701,"date":"2014-08-02T10:35:59","date_gmt":"2014-08-02T17:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=6701"},"modified":"2014-08-01T10:38:59","modified_gmt":"2014-08-01T17:38:59","slug":"cocktail-corner-viva-la-sangria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=6701","title":{"rendered":"Cocktail Corner: Viva la Sangria!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Peach

Peach Sangria, courtesy Ciroc Vodka<\/p><\/div>\n

A spirited toast to all things alcoholic! By Leslie Dinaberg<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, nothing will ever usurp the Margarita<\/a> as my Fiesta drink of choice. As I’ve written in this column before, “Margaritas are part of the DNA of Santa Barbara and\u2014along with buying Cascarones<\/a> and seeing old friends\u2014one of my favorite ways to celebrate Old Spanish Days<\/a>. My son was born on July 27, 1999 and once I got over the initial euphoria, the first thing I wanted to do was drink a Margarita. After all, it was Fiesta <\/a>time and that’s how we do it around here.”<\/p>\n

But, as I’ve learned\u2014the hard way\u2014there is such a thing as too many Margaritas. That’s where Sangria comes in. This Spanish\/Portuguese libation takes many forms.<\/p>\n

The most common Sangrias\u00a0consist of red wine, chopped fruit, a sweetener, and a small amount of added brandy, vodka or some other spirit.<\/span>\u00a0The beauty of a drink like this is that less expensive\u00a0wines work well, and the chopped fruit can include almost anything you have around. Oranges, lemons, limes, apples, peaches, melons of all types, berries, pineapples, grapes\u00a0and mangos are all good. Frozen berries work especially well, and you can substitute Sprite or 7 Up or Lemon Lime for the spirits if you want a lighter cocktail.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sangria is pretty widely available in the summer. For example,\u00a0the Coral Cafe & Bar at the Coral Casino<\/a> has a Skinny Superfruit Sangria that is magically under 125 calories (made with Veev Aca\u00ed, Cranberry Juice, Red Wine\u00a0and\u00a0Strawberry Puree). Finch & Fork <\/a>at the Canary<\/a>\u00a0Hotel offers a $20 “Sangria & Bites” happy hour special with a pitcher of red or white sangria and three bites to share:\u00a0warm citrus marinated olives, blistered shishito peppers and honey roasted spiced nuts. Alcazar<\/a> on the Mesa also has a nice Sangria happy hour special.\"Strawberry\"<\/p>\n

I particularly like the white sangria, also known as\u00a0Sangria Blanca, made with white wine. The Latin Kitchen<\/a> has a nice recipe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Also becoming popular are versions that forgo wine entirely.\u00a0One of my favorite variations in that category is a Peach Sangria. Here’s a recipe from\u00a0C\u00ceROC Vodka<\/a>, which is incidentally made from French grapes, rather than the traditional grain alcohol:<\/p>\n

Peach Sangria <\/strong><\/p>\n

(Pitcher Recipe)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

10 oz C\u00ceROC Peach<\/p>\n

5 oz Hennessy<\/p>\n

5 oz Fresh Lime Juice<\/p>\n

5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice 5<\/p>\n

1 oz Simple Syrup<\/p>\n

40 Dashes Bitters<\/p>\n

20 oz Club Soda<\/p>\n

Stir over ice in 64 oz pitcher<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Single Cocktail)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1 oz C\u00ceROC Peach<\/p>\n

.5 oz Hennessy<\/p>\n

.5 oz Fresh Lime Juice<\/p>\n

.5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice<\/p>\n

.5 oz Simple Syrup<\/p>\n

4 Dashes Bitters<\/p>\n

2 oz Club Soda<\/p>\n

Stir over ice in Wine Glass<\/p>\n

With that I’ll leave you with this Fiesta-flavored video from\u00a0C\u00ceROC partner\/brand ambassador\u00a0Sean Combs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Viva la Sangria!<\/p>\n