"No arms, no sangria!" You can hear this near the firefighters' bodega during the Alès fair. But this is all red sangria (in French) It flows during the fair, with a color that gives the cocktail its name. In contrast, you can make a white sangria, based on white wine instead.
Without abandoning the classic sangria's popular appeal, I find white sangria to be much more refined, more sophisticated. The color, I'm not sure. The taste too—lighter, more fleeting.
White sangria, a cocktail to mix yourself
Rather than a recipe, I'd prefer to give you a few principles to follow. You're free to choose the ingredients you like best later on. After all, you know the song, like the Caipirinha (in French) or MojitoThere is not a single unique recipe etched in marble. This type of mix has evolved so that each person has their own recipe, their own secret ingredient.
Before giving you the recipe, I'll first share these key principles to follow.
- You need wine (white, definitely). Take a dry one, you could even take a sparkling one (perhaps not champagne either), which will add texture.
- Some slices of lime, yellow, green, or both at the same time.
- Fruits. Choose the ones you like, or seasonal ones. Whites (peach, mirabelle...), reds (raspberry, cassis...), or even exotic fruits (kiwis, mango!)
- A white spirit to add a bit of body to the mix. At Cocktail Molotov we prefer gin, but a vodka will do just as well. Or a pisco or a white marc!
- A clear or white liqueur. Boudreau offers St-Germain (barley liqueur), but my personal favorite is a wine-based peach cream.
- And ice (always at Cocktail Molotov, you know this now !)
Sparkling white sangria for 10 people
Ingredients
- 1 bottle dry sparkling white wine
- 1 lemon
- 5 cl gin
- fruit (kiwis, mirabelle plums, raspberries …)
- 10 cl crème de pêche de vigne (vineyard peach liqueur)
- 1 kg ice
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a punch bowl, or in a tall vase-shaped container for an elegant presentation like Jamie Boudreau’s. Stir gently with a spoon and it is ready!
Video
Personal anecdote
I discovered this recipe in a video by Jamie Boudreau, in Raising The BarBefore even the YouTube Game, there was a website called Small Screen Network, created by Robert 'Papa' Hess. It was organized in a chain: Hess, Voisey, Boudreau... and all these people only talked about cocktails. That's how we learned everything at CM!
Papa Hess was the classic choice, giving us solid foundations. But it was Boudreau who truly inspired us: infusions, smoked marjoram, bourbon syrup... even his white sangria was sublime!
A practical recipe card
Wait, don't leave like that! With Cocktail Molotov, there's always something extra—today I'm trying my hand at infographics. I'd love your feedback on it: if you like it, if it's not too ugly, or if you just don't care ^^.
