Sangria Recipe

I’ve been asked by a few people for the sangria recipe I used for the 4th of July party. My sangria recipe is one of the only artistic things that I let people see and I am kind of proud of it (but I also feel vulnerable because of it). So, here are my red, white, and blue sangria recipes with a few notes on each. Preparation should start 24-48 hours before serving for best results.

Red: This recipe has evolved from my first attempt at sangria in college. I took a recipe I found online and I have slowly tweaked it to fit my taste. It is my favorite, but I also prefer red wine over white.

1 5-Liter box of red wine (I prefer Mertlot but any should work)

4 Lemons

4 Oranges

4 Limes

1 cup of Orange Juice

2/3 Liter Gin (or 1/3 Liter of Everclear*)

4 cups of raspberries (frozen is fine)

2 cans of diced pineapples

6.5 Liters of Ginger Ale

1. Pour wine into serving container. I like to use 14L clear plastic storage container. Make sure it is clean… Don’t be nasty.
2. Slice and squeeze the oranges, lemons, and limes, and throw them into the wine. I usually slice the lemons and limes into quarters and the oranges into eights depending on size
3. Pour in the pineapple with the juice.
4. Add the frozen raspberries
5. Pour in Gin and stir gently.
6. Chill in the refrigerator 24-36 hours. I like to go back and stir every 6-8 hours and take a little taste to see if any adjustments need to be made. You can add sugar to taste.
7. Pour the wine and fruit into a 30 Liter container and add the ginger ale, orange juice, and ice right before serving. Taste and add any sugar that you desire. Due to the marinating fruits the sangria may come out cloudy and have fruit pulp. This shouldn’t detract from the taste and fruit itself will probably taste awesome.

White: I started making this recipe while living in DC and I think I finally have it where I like it. It seemed to be the most popular at the party and makes a wonderful summer drink. The white wine and fruits can be overwhelmed a bit by the ginger ale and gin so this recipe uses the same amount of wine but actually makes less…. I’m not sure how the alcohol content balances with half the gin and half the ginger ale.

1 5-Liter box of white wine

1/3L of Gin (or 1/6L of Everclear)

2 cups of White Grape Juice

2 cups sliced grapes (green)

2 green apples

2 cans of diced pineapples

4 nectarines

4 kiwis

4 Liters Ginger Ale

1. Pour wine into serving container. I like to use 14L clear plastic storage container. Make sure it is clean… Again, don’t be gross… you are dealing with uncooked food for friends… show some love.
2. Add grapes, kiwis, apricots, pineapple (with juice), and apples
   1. Grapes: Slice them but they don’t have to be perfect, you just need to break the shell enough so that the juices all mix together
   2. Kiwis: cut the skin off and cut into slices
   3. Nectarines: cut into quarters, remove the pit
   4. Apples: sliced into quarters or eights depending on the size of them
3. Pour in Gin and stir gently.
4. Chill in the refrigerator 24-36 hours. I like to go back and stir every 6-8 hours and take a little taste to see if any adjustments need to be made. You can add sugar to taste.
5. Add ginger ale and white grape juice right before serving. Taste and add sugar as desired.

Blue: This was a brand new recipe that I decided to make as part of the ‘Murica: Fuck Yeah! theme of the party. I think it turned out pretty good but it was a little sweet for my taste so there is definitely some refinement ahead.

1 5-Liter box of white wine

1/3L of Gin (or 1/6L of Everclear)

2 cups of Grape Juice

4 cups sliced grapes (green)

4 cups of blueberries

4 cups of raspberries

4 plums

4 Liters Ginger Ale

1. Pour wine into serving container. I like to use 14L clear plastic storage container. Make sure it is clean…
2. Add grapes, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and plums
   1. Grapes: Slice them but they don’t have to be perfect, you just need to break the shell enough so that the juices all mix together
   2. Blueberries: muddle them in a mixing bowl and pour the muddle mess into the wine
   3. Raspberries and blackberries: pour into mixture
   4. Plums: cut into quarters and remove pit
3. Pour in Gin and stir gently.
4. Chill in the refrigerator 24-36 hours. I like to go back and stir every 6-8 hours and take a little taste to see if any adjustments need to be made. You can add sugar to taste.
5. Add ginger ale, ice, and grape juice right before serving.

Life Update

Oh hai!

I kind of came to realize that I have not really updated people on my life via this blog. While my rantings on polyamory, sex, love, nudism, anarchy, etc. are entertaining to me this blog also serves as a way to log my life in general. So, here is a little life update.

This week I moved in with my partner. Her and I are going on a year long bicycle ride around the US and Canada next year and to help keep focused on that goal and save money we decided to move in together. We have been dating for 8ish months and if we are going to spend a year together it seems to make sense to get used to the idea of being around each other a lot. To be honest, I was very skeptical of this idea at first. The last time I lived with a partner was my ex-fiance in 2005 and that did not end well. I am a different person now and it would be crazy unreasonable for me to treat the two live-in situations the same. My partner now is a mature, responsible, generous, encouraging person while my ex-fiance was young and unready for a serious relationship (but so was I at the time).

Last weekend I was able to go up to Portland and see my family. This is the first time I’ve met my niece (who is tiny… I don’t know, 3 months?) which was cool. I also got to see my nephew for the second time, he is almost 2 years old now but he doesn’t remember me from my last visit 18 months ago. My siblings and I still get along great and I am finding I enjoy having adult siblings, while I may not agree with everything they do or believe they are very capable of articulating their reasons and we leave with respect for each other. They are also a lot of fun to just have a beer with and play Cards Against Humanity.

One of the highlights of this trip was seeing an old high school friend and his wife. We all kind of lost touch after I joined the army and he got married but it looks like that is changing. We all seem eager to reform our friendship and keep up with each other more. I missed him a lot and I’m glad that things seem to be getting better.

Oh yeah, I also sat next to an awesome anarchist girl on the plane ride from LA to Portland. We talked the whole trip and I am sure we terrified most of the people eavesdropping on us.

Hmm, other than that there is not a lot going on. Work is the standard stuff that pays the bills and keeps me partying. I did get my Burning Man tickets which is crazy exciting. There is a lot to say about Burning Man and going with my partner this year, it will be my first time going while in a relationship and her first time going at all. I’ll probably have to do a BM prep blog post as the time approaches.

Well, stay safe and free out there beautiful people. I’m just counting down the hours until I leave work and head to a kick ass 4th of July party where I get to share my sangria. I am weirdly nervous about this because my sangria is one of the few artistic things I allow others to see and am very proud of. I just hope it goes over well.