traditional sangria. Sure, on a steamy summer evening the timeless standby— a pitcher of chilled red wine sweetened with sugar and fruit juices and garnished with orange sections and apple slices— tastes darn good. But today’s innovative interpretations are even more alluring, thanks to spices and infusions, tempting fruits (from pears to litchis) and even some unexpected alcohol enhancements —think tequila and beer. There’s no question about it, sangria has gone from cheap to chic.
Sangria is a casual-occasion wine punch from Spain (the word itself means “bloody” in Spanish), but there’s no standard recipe, so the way it is made varies greatly. Generally, it’s a combination of red wine, orange juice, brandy and fruit slices, but sometimes sangria is also made with white wine or the Spanish sparkling wine cava. In this country, though, sangria has long been thought of mostly as something to drink at Spanish restaurants. That’s no longer the case.
BY JESSICA MERRILL PHOTOGRAPH Y BY STEVEN VOTE
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“Everybody is looking for something new, something unique, and sangria is perfect for interpretation,” says Maneet Chauhan, the executive chef at the midtown Manhattan hot spot At Vermilion. “A lot of restaurants are putting their own signature spin on it.”
The herbed white sangria created by Chauhan and owner Rohini Dey, for example, takes its cue from the restaurant’s Indian-Latin fusion cuisine. The sangria is made from simple syrup infused with curry leaf and green chili, and is spiced with herbs such as mint, coriander and ginger. The final touch is the addition of traditional Indian fruits such as mango, litchi and pomegranate.
Trendy Masa in Boston’s South End, a Southwestern-influenced restaurant, serves up its own fusion sangria, the sangria margarita, a cocktail that general manager Je Hendershot calls “sangria with a bigger punch.” It gets added kick from tequila and peach schnapps mixed with fresh-squeezed orange juice and Malbec wine.
Flavors Deconstructed One of the most intriguing ri s on sangria comes from the cocktail mavericks at Macao Trading Co. in New
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