Hosting this holiday? Instead of finding yourself stuck mixing drinks the whole event, consider making some festive batch cocktails for you and your guests. Offering a “signature drink” upon arrival can make a fun and memorable impression. Batch cocktails like this sangria recipe even allow you to make them ahead of time. That means prep and cleanup can all happen hours ahead of your event. In fact, this recipe is best if you make it a day ahead. Just wait to add your sparkling water and garnishes until right before the party starts. This recipe is a little sweet, spiced, and sparkling for your guests. We hope you enjoy it.

Two glasses of festive holiday sangria with rosemary garnish on Ironsbridge Cambria quartz countertops

Holiday Sangria Ingredients:

(Serves 6)

1 bottle red wine
½ cup orange liquor
3 cans of ginger beer or cranberry sparkling water
¼ cup sugar (or 1 tablespoon of hot honey if you want a little kick)
1 red apple, cored and cubed
1 orange, juiced
1 orange, sliced
1 cup freshwhole cranberries
2-3 sprigs of rosemary* (+ more for garnish)
2-3 cinnamon sticks (+ more for garnish)

_{*For a “Fireside Sangria” variation, light a few sprigs of rosemary on fire and let them smoke a little in a mason jar. Add into sangria mixture to soak.}

Holiday Sangria How-To

DIRECTIONS:

Add the sliced fruit, sugar, rosemary, and cinnamon sticks to a large pitcher or punchbowl.
Pour in the wine, orange juice, and orange liquor then stir until sugar is dissolved.
Cover container and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours (preferably make the day before and soak overnight).
Before serving, pour in ginger beer or sparkling water.
Rim stemware with equal parts cinnamon/sugar mixture (optional) and pour sangria through a cocktail strainer for guests.
Garnish with a few cranberries, a cinnamon stick, and/or rosemary sprig.

Be sure to offer your guests a spoonful of the soaked fruit for their glass if they would like.

close up of sangria fruit in pitcher as red wine is poured into it

Watch Us Make a Batch of Holiday Sangria

A toast! To you, the host or hostess this holiday. May your drinks and your conversations be sparkling. May your refrigerator capacity be large enough to soak a batch (or two) of this sangria. And may your dishwasher be quiet enough to run even as your guests arrive. If those last two parts of the toast aren’t ringing true, give us a call. We can help you make a new appliance list for Santa. If you need some tunes to play during your holiday meal, check out this dinner party playlist we made on our Spotify page.

Details on This Kitchen Design

Mother and daughter in white kitchen clinking glasses of red sangria in holiday sweaters from Katsch Boutique

Our thanks to a recent customer who allowed us to stop back over for this fun holiday photo shoot with our friends at Katsch. Kitchen by Village Home Stores featuring Koch Cabinetry in the Bristol door, Ivory painted finish with Birch Java hood and island. Cambria Quartz Ironsbridge countertops, Golden lighting, and KitchenAid Appliances also featured. Find more inspiration from this project here in a full featured write-up. Looking to start working on a kitchen design with our team? Call us at 309-944-1344 or complete this short online form with your information. You can also fire up the webchat feature here on this page. We can’t wait to hear what you are working on and how we can help. Cheers!

close up of Cointreau bottle, red apple, oranges, cinnamon sticks, and sugar

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Make-Ahead Holiday Sangria Recipe