Drink of the Month: Tropical Red Sangria

I love Sangria!  Not the nasty stuff you find in a plastic bottled labeled, "Sangria," but real hand-made Sangria prepared with a good bottle of wine.  

White Sangria has always been my Sangria of choice.  I like Red Sangria, but I always found it to have a weird flavor that I just wasn't a fan of.  I finally realized what the flavor was, it's Brandy.  It seems like most Red Wine Sangrias call for Brandy, and I do not like the stuff.  So I set-out to make one that didn't involve Brandy.
  
It took a couple years, and a few failed attempts that went down the drain, but I finally concocted the perfect Red Wine Sangria for me.  

Most Sangrias are comprised of four main ingredients: wine, liquor, sugar, and fruit.  
*Wine is the easy one, I prefer a dry-spanish wine in Sangria, but most any red wine will work.  
*For the liquor component I used spiced rum instead of brandy.  
*The sugar was no sugar at all, it was Simply Tropical by Simply.
*The fruit was slices of orange and lime (because it's what I had on hand at the time).

Finally, a Red Sangria that I can drink all Summer long.  

Drink of the Week #5: Watermelon Popmosa

Popmosa: a cocktail in which a Popsicle is submerged into a glass of champagne. 

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Have you noticed that homemade Popsicles are everywhere right now?  It makes sense, it's summer, it's hot, and a Popsicle is the perfect cool down sweet treat.  The problem is that Popsicles are crammed full of sugar and calories.  However, when you make the Popsicles, you control what goes into it.

When I decided I was going to make my own Popsicles at home I knew I wanted it to be alcohol infused for my Drink of the Week.  I used a cheap mold, created a cocktail, and froze it.  

Big disappointment!  

For starters, because of the cheapness of the mold, I couldn't get the Popsicles out of the mold no matter what I did--- then they melted.  

Basically I tossed aside my cheap Popsicle maker and got lucky with this fabulous one from World Market for only $9. 

I still really wanted to make a Drink of the Week in Popsicle form, especially being the Fourth of July, so I did.  

I turned my Popsicles into this weeks Drink of the Week, The Watermelon Popmosa.   

Drink of the Week #4: Bitter White

I love beer and now it's being used in cocktails.  

 

Beer in a cocktail takes on a whole new dimension in the cocktail world.  Think about it, we love adding a splash of champagne or soda water to a drink to  make it a little more refreshing and bubbly, well guess what?  Beer does the same thing and adds a layer of flavor to boot.  

Beer is a complex creature, more complex than any wine or hard liquor on the market.  From the steps involved in the brewing process, to the array of ingredient that could be used, to the styles of beer available...the world is your oyster when it comes to a 'beer cocktail.'  

 For my Bitter White I chose to use a White IPA(India Pale Ale), which is a slightly bitter beer with a punch of citrus. I personally like White IPA's more because they offer a creamier mouth feel with less of the bitter bite.  Adding citrus and agave to the White IPA created an effervescent citrus sipper with a hint of sweetness and bitter hops.  Yum.  

Bitter White (yields 2 cocktails)

• 2oz Grapefruit Juice (1/2 a grapefruit)
• 2oz Orange Juice (1/2 an orange)
• 1oz Lemon Juice (1 lemon)
• 2oz Vodka
• 1/2oz Agave Nectar
• 1 bottle of Deschutes White IPA 

1. Combine the juices with the vodka and agave nectar.  Shake and strain over ice.  
2. Top with IPA.
3. Drink.

 

I see more 'beer cocktails' in my future.

Cheers!