It’s the Summer of Sangría!

The perfect summer drink, by the glass or by the pitcher.

There are many great drinks that seem to be made for summertime, easy ways to cool off and unwind at the end of a hot day. Some people love a spicy margarita (you have to try the Salt Air Margarita at Oyamel if you have never had it). These days it seems like there is everything made with Aperol for a refreshing spritz. One of my go-to cocktails is usually a gintonic, which you know is one word not two, and needs to be made with a lot of garnishes!

But I think one of the best summer drinks has to be sangría. It’s cold and refreshing, and you can make it by the pitcher so it's easy to make ahead of time and bring out when you have friends over for a barbecue or a summertime picnic. And you can make it with whatever fruits and wine you might have in your house right now.

Sangría, as you probably know, is a kind of punch made from wine. While we Spaniards like to take all the credit for the creation of Sangría, the history books tell us that it’s actually very, very old…as old as the Roman empire! Sweet, spiced wine, called hippocras, became popular during the Roman era, and actually shows up in the famous fifth century Roman collection of recipes by Apicius. It evolved and migrated from there, coming to the Iberian peninsula maybe with the Romans, maybe with the al-Andalus dynasty (other Roman dishes have become famous in Spain as well, like the gazpacho we talked about last week!)

No matter what, sangría has evolved over the past 2000 years! Today it’s a blank canvas for so many delicious flavors and amazing fruits. The thing that always gets to me is that sangría can be so so good but it can also be really bad. So I am here to share tips so that you will always have good sangría—and you know, we are actually celebrating the Summer of Sangría at Jaleo in Washington, Chicago, and Las Vegas and Spanish Diner in Bethesda! So if you are there, stop in for a pitcher and some bites. If you’re not, and you want to try your hand at making it yourself, I have some tips for you!