Thirsty Thursday

Welcome to the first installment of Thirsty Thursday. On Thursdays , I will post recipes and pictures of some of my favorite cocktails ( and there are quite a few ! ).
In honor of my upcoming wine weekend I am sharing one of my famous ( or infamous, depending on who you talk to ) sangria recipes. I LOVE sangria! At our favorite Mexican restaurant , I am known as Grandma Sangria ( ok , we must go there too much ) !
If you like wine and people know it , you tend to get gifts of wine that maybe don't appeal to you. I NEVER waste a bottle of wine ! If it's not one I enjoy , I just save it for a Sangria Event. Sangria recipes generally make a pretty big batch so I don't like to make it unless I am having an "EVENT", besides Sangria is always best shared with friends !
Sangria is basically a wine punch made with fruit and liquor. And the great thing is there are as many combinations as there are people. You just can't do it wrong. Sometimes I add a little ginger ale or soda to a glass 3/4 full of Sangria , but again , it's all personal preference.

Today I am going to share the recipe I used for my Sangria at out Labor Day potluck at the campground . It was DELISH !
One Bottle of Merlot - I will interject here and say it's best to use a cheap wine. Why use a expensive wine when it's  flavors are just going to mingle with that of the liquor and fruit.
One Cup Raspberry Schnapps-  I like to use a sweeter liquor , like Schnapps  or brandy.
One Cup Triple Sec - I almost always use Triple Sec
One bottle of Cranberry Juice -  I always use a fruit juice of some kind , depending on the flavor combo I'm going for . I usually prefer citrus though , like,  lemonade , limeade or  even a mixed fruit punch. This particular weekend I happened to have a bottle of cranberry juice in the frig.
Sliced fruit - if you slice the fruit the flavors mingle faster. AGAIN , it's all preference. This weekend I used a lemon , lime , orange and frozen  mixed berries.
Another tip - if you freeze your sliced fruit or use frozen fruit , you don't need to use ice , which dilutes the Sangria. Who really wants diluted Sangria ? NO ONE !
 I called this one WILD Berry Sangria !  And I have to say it WAS a hit !I can't think of a better  or more affordable cocktail to serve a crowd than Sangria. Experiment with different combinations , I can honestly say I have never made two batches alike ! Give it a try !