My husband came across the original recipe for this sangria on the interwebs, and it did look tasty; rose wine, grapefruit vodka, grapefruit juice, ginger ale, and stuff.
Thing is, the stuff was a bit much – making a simple syrup, not all that difficult, but still…
Then, there was the sheer size of the recipe. I have a lot of pitchers and such, but none to accommodate two bottles of wine, two cups of grapefruit juice, one cup of vodka, and then the simple syrup and grapefruit slices.
What to do?
Well, we were getting together with friends for lunch, and it turned out that a half batch was the prefect size for my travel pitcher.
And, as it turned out, none of us thought that we needed the simple syrup, so, bonus!
INGREDIENTS
•1 bottle rose wine (we like 90+)
•2 cups ruby red grapefruit juice
•1/2 to 1 cup grapefruit vodka
•12 oz ginger ale
•Grapefruit or other fruit slices
•Fresh basil or mint
Combine the rose with the grapefruit juice, vodka, and ginger ale in a pitcher.
Pour over ice in large glasses and garnish with fruit, if you like – Mira saved the fruit I had brought to enjoy for dessert with the lemon curd yogurt sauce.
We also tried adding fresh mint (Barb and Mira), and, later basil leaves (me). I am not a huge fan of mint, but the basil was a lovely thing – especially enhancing the aroma of the sangria as I sipped it.
All in all, perfect for a summer’s afternoon with good friends; and mighty tasty with grilled veggies and shrimp burgers.