Cranberry Apple Sangria
I love sangria, in fact, when I got out, I order three drinks and sangria is one of them. I also love to make sangria for parties because it is so simple to get together and relatively cheap to make a large batch drink. You need a bottle of wine, some liquor, juice, and fruits/aromatics to give it incredible flavor. And with the Fall here and all the gatherings, what better theme than autumnal flavors for your sangria. I love cranberry juice, in fact, I used to drink it religiously because I have a kidney defect. So I got to know all the flavor combos and Cranberry Apple was one of my favorites. This was all before that viral video of the skateboarder drinking Ocean Spray with Fleetwood Mac playing.
Cranberries and apples pair so well because the tartness of the cranberry is balanced with the sweetness of the apples. So combine those in sangria with a little vanilla or whipped cream vodka and cinnamon, it is delicious. I brought it to a street happy hour and my neighbors were obsessed, even my 90-something neighbor loved it, don’t worry, we made sure she made it into her house safely. This is perfect for Thanksgiving, if you want to make a kid friendly one, just use some vanilla syrup in place of the vodka and swap the wine for some grape juice, so good! You could also swap the wine for kombucha or sparking water!
Cranberry Apple Sangria
1 1/2 cups Whipped Cream or Vanilla flavored Vodka
2 cups apples, thinly sliced
2 cups fresh cranberries
5 cinnamon sticks
4 cups Cranberry Apple Juice
1 bottle Red Wine blend
- In a large pitcher or carafe, combine all the ingredients, stir, and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, overnight is best.
- Serve chilled or room temperature.
This recipe could not be more straightforward - slice apples and gather your ingredients. I love to use a drink dispenser like this one for sangria but a good pitcher works perfectly too.
Start with your fruits and cinnamon at the bottom.
Pour in the vodka and juice…
Pour in a bottle of blended red wine, it doesn’t have to be amazing, the other flavors will help it along, I spent less than $10 for my bottle and it was perfect.
Stir it all up and chill it. You want time to allow all the flavors to come together so chill it for at least 4 hours but overnight is even better. Then serve!
