Sangria Serrano

This is sangria for an actual party, not a sad pitcher of grocery-store red with a sliced orange. The recipe is a big-batch sangria Serrano: a bottle of red Burgundy as the base, a half bottle of light rum, six ounces of vodka, and four ounces each of Cointreau and Grand Marnier for orange-liqueur depth. Pineapple, tart apples, oranges, and limes go in to soak up the booze and release fruit oils back into the wine.

The day-ahead step is essential. Sangria made the morning of tastes thin and disjointed; sangria that has sat overnight has melded into something rounded, where the wine, fruit and liqueurs read as a single drink rather than separate ingredients. Two days is even better.

Hold the seltzer and ice until just before serving. Pre-mixed soda goes flat in the fridge, and pre-mixed ice waters down the punch. Add both to individual glasses or to the bowl as the first guests arrive.

Use a big glass dispenser if you have one. Sangria is a party drink and looks the part; a clear vessel showing the layered citrus and apple wedges is half the fun.

Pro Tips

• Use a decent but not expensive Burgundy. Save your good Pinot for sipping; the liqueurs and juices flatten the nuance of fine wine anyway.
• Slice the fruit thin so it floats and releases flavor. Wedges that are too thick sink to the bottom and look like garbage.
• Sweeten gradually. Most fresh juices already bring sugar; add table sugar a tablespoon at a time and taste as you go.
• Strain into glasses with the fruit when serving so guests don’t get mouthfuls of pulp at the bottom.

Variations

• Use a white wine instead of red and add white peaches and green grapes for sangria blanca.
• Add 2 cups of frozen berries (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries) for color and a deeper berry profile.
• Reduce the spirits and double the seltzer for a lighter, more sessionable spritzer-style sangria.