Category: sangria

Halloween Sangria

This Halloween Sangria recipe is a spooky drink that’s ideal for parties! Whip up a pitcher to impress everyone. Looking…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

This Halloween Sangria recipe is a spooky drink that’s ideal for parties! Whip up a pitcher to impress everyone.

Halloween Sangria

Looking for a spooky drink to impress? Try this Halloween Sangria! We are all about scary Halloween cocktails, and this one is a new favorite. Pair red wine with cinnamon sugar, fruit and sparkling cider for a tasty drink that everyone will love! The best part? Rim the glasses with DIY colored sugar and top with fun cocktail picks. The flavor is pure, bold, and lightly cinnamon spiced: and we’ve got two variations for a sweeter or more dry drink!

What you need for Halloween sangria

Sangría is a traditional wine punch that originates from Spain. The classic version is made with red wine and chopped fruit, and often orange juice or brandy. Many American spins add loads of sugar to this drink, which is traditionally quite dry and nuanced. This Halloween sangria is in the style of the traditional Spanish drink, but we’ve got a variation that is a little sweeter for those who like sweeter drinks. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

  • Apple
  • Blood oranges
  • Granulated sugar
  • Cinnamon
  • Dry red wine, such as Rioja
  • Sparkling cider (dry variation) or ginger ale (sweet variation)
  • Ice, for serving
  • Colored sugar and Halloween cocktail picks, for the garnish (optional)
Halloween sangria

How to make sangria…the Spanish way

This Halloween sangria method is inspired by our favorite Spanish chef, Jose Andres. Chef Andres is from Spain and started many successful restaurants here in the US. Per Chef Andres, the “Spanish” way to make this wine punch this:

  • Macerate fruit for 20 minutes: Mix the sangria fruit with sugar and let it macerate or stand at room temperature and break down. This helps the fruit flavors permeate the wine even more.
  • Add liquids: Add the red wine.
  • Refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours. This allows the flavors to meld and develop.
  • Serve with bubbles. Traditional Spanish sangria uses soda water, but here you’ll add sparkling cider or ginger ale to the glass when serving!

Ways to customize the sweetness

Our addition to the Spanish sangria formula? When serving, mix the red wine mixture with sparkling apple cider or ginger ale. This sweetens the drink and adds bubbles! The sparkling apple cider makes for a dry flavor, whereas the ginger ale makes for a sweeter drink.

Another way to customize the sweetness? Use a fruity sweet red wine instead of a dry red wine.

Halloween sangria

Halloween sangria drink garnishes

The best part of this Halloween sangria? The drink garnishes! You can use the ones we’ve used here, or get creative with some of your own ideas. Here’s what we did:

  • Make DIY colored sugar. A colored sugar rim makes the look! Use purchased sugar or go to our DIY colored sugar tutorial for instructions. We made both orange and purple for a festive look!
  • Use an orange slice and festive cocktail picks. These Halloween cocktail picks (aka cupcake toppers) really set the tone! We used a blood orange slice to fasten our cocktail picks. If you can’t find them, a regular orange works just as well!

This Halloween sangria is perfect for parties because it makes a big pitcher to share. Try it out, or try a Halloween margarita pitcher if you’re a tequila lover!

Halloween sangria

More Halloween drinks

Want more ideas for spooky drinks? Here are a few Halloween cocktails we love:

This Halloween sangria recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Print
Halloween Sangria

Halloween Sangria

★★★★★

5 from 1 review
  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Rest Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
  • Yield: 8
Print Recipe

Description

This Halloween Sangria recipe is a spooky drink that’s ideal for parties! Whip up a pitcher to impress everyone.

Ingredients

  • 1 apple
  • 2 blood oranges, plus 2 more for garnish
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 750 ml bottle dry red wine, such as Rioja
  • 1 750 ml bottle sparkling cider (or ginger ale for a sweeter sangria)
  • Ice, for serving
  • For the garnish: colored sugar, Halloween cocktail picks (optional)

Instructions

  1. Thinly slice the apple and orange. Place them into a medium bowl and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Transfer to a large pitcher. Allow to stand for 20 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
  2. Pour in the red wine. Stir and refrigerate for 1 hour, or as long as 4 hours. (Don’t go beyond 4 hours or the fruit texture starts to degrade.)
  3. If desired, place colored sugar on a plate, wet the rims of the glasses, and dip them into the sugar (DIY or purchased; we made orange and purple).
  4. To serve, fill a glass with ice. Fill halfway with sparkling apple cider, then halfway with red wine mixture (or you can pour them both together in a pitcher). Or, add the wine mixture to a glass and top off with ginger ale. 
  5. Garnish with blood orange slices and Halloween cocktail picks. When you’ve polished off the sangria, you can snack on the sweetened fruit.
  • Category: Drink
  • Method: No Cook
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Keywords: Halloween sangria, Halloween sangria recipe

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

Sangria Margarita

A sangria margarita blends red wine with tequila and lime juice to make the most of both drinks! It’s a…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

A sangria margarita blends red wine with tequila and lime juice to make the most of both drinks! It’s a fun cocktail mash-up.

Sangria margarita

There is nothing traditional about this cocktail, but it’s a fun mash-up of two tasty drinks: a Sangria Margarita! This one pairs the unlikely combination of a Spanish red sangria with a classic Mexican margarita for a pitcher-style refreshing drink. The red wine and tequila really work together, complimented by triple sec, lime juice and orange juice. It’s perfect for parties and patio season!

What’s in a sangria margarita?

A sangria margarita is a drink that pairs traditional Spanish sangria with a classic margarita. Interestingly, these drinks have a cross-over ingredient: they both include triple sec or Cointreau orange liqueur as a backup to the primary liquor (brandy and tequila, respectively). So, we took our classic Spanish red wine sangria and swapped in tequila for the brandy and added lime juice: voila, sangria margarita! Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

  • Fruity dry red wine
  • Tequila
  • Triple sec or Cointreau
  • Simple syrup
  • Orange juice
  • Lime juice
Sangria margarita

Best wine for a sangria margarita

For this sangria margarita recipe, you’ll need a bottle of dry red wine. Any dry red will do. Of course, if you’re a sweet wine person (we see you out there!), you may want to opt for a sweet red wine instead for this drink. Some of the best varietals for dry red wine are:

  • Rioja Tempranillo
  • Garnacha (Grenache grown in Spain)
  • Malbec
  • Pinot Noir

Flavor notes

Often in America, sangrias served in restaurants and bars are incredibly sweet. This sangria margarita is closer to a traditional Spanish sangria in flavor. It tastes bold and fruity, with a balance of dry and sweet.

If you prefer sweet drinks, you may want to use a sweet red wine or add a bit more simple syrup after tasting the pitcher. You also may find that you’d like more of a noticeable tequila flavor, so feel free to add a splash more of tequila to the mix. You can customize it to your liking! This is the blend we like, but our tastes tend more towards the dry side for sangria.

Sangria margarita

Garnishes for a sangria margarita

Besides tequila, the other part of a sangria margarita that’s more like a margarita? The salt rim! Add some citrus slices and it makes for the most beautiful presentation. Here’s what you’ll need for garnishing the glass:

  • Kosher salt or flaky salt: The easiest way to rim a glass is to cut a notch in a lime wedge, then slide it around the rim. Then, dip the outside edge of the glass rim into a plate of salt.
  • Lime and orange slices: It’s all about presentation with a sangria margarita, so load up on citrus slices: especially if you’re entertaining!

More sangria & margarita recipes

This sangria margarita makes a big pitcher that’s perfect for entertaining! Here are a few more variations on these cocktail recipes:

Print
Sangria margarita

Sangria Margarita

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 6
Print Recipe

Description

A sangria margarita blends red wine with tequila and lime juice to make the most of both drinks! It’s a fun cocktail mash-up.

Ingredients

  • 750 ml bottle fruity dry red wine, chilled
  • ½ cup tequila
  • ½ cup triple sec or Cointreau
  • ½ cup simple syrup
  • ½ cup orange juice
  • ¼ cup lime juice
  • For the garnish: 2 limes and 1 orange, sliced
  • Kosher salt, to rim the glass

Instructions

  1. In a large pitcher, stir together the red wine, tequila, triple sec or Cointreau, simple syrup, orange juice, and lime juice. Taste and if desired, add more syrup or tequila for a sweeter or boozier vibe. Garnish the pitcher with lime and orange wedges and 1 handful ice cubes.
  2. To serve, cut a notch in a lime wedge, then run the lime around the rim of each glass. Dip the edge of the rim into a plate of the salt. Add 1 handful ice and pour in the sangria. Garnish with orange and lime slices.
  • Category: Drink
  • Method: No Cook
  • Cuisine: Cocktail
  • Diet: Vegan

Keywords: Sangria margarita

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.