With the weekend almost upon us, I feel it is my civic duty to share with you this recipe for stone fruit sangria. This super easy, crowd-pleasing beverage is sure to tickle your taste buds and be the hit of your end-of-summer soiree. Armed with a pitcher and a little bit of advance planning to let everything meld together, you will create a delicious libation that everyone will rave about.
The key is to make sure you start this at least 3 hours before you plan on serving so that the fruit can infuse all of its lovely flavors throughout the drink. It will taste very, very strong if you sample immediately after mixing, but the flavors will mellow out over the resting period.
Oh – and please, please for the love of alcohol, make sure not to skip the brandy or the basil! Those two elements are the equivalent of the cocktail Fairy Godmother that turns this pitcher beverage from a ho-hum, “meh” drink into a super-star, vibrant Diva worthy of the most fabulous shoes in the kingdom! (Yeah, can you tell I watched a lot of Disney movies as a kid…?!)
While it may look like a fruit swamp in your pitcher when you are ready to serve, this drink will be gone in a flash, so I recommend doubling the recipe if you plan on serving more than 2 or 3 people.
You can also add in a splash of sparkling water or club soda if you like a lighter flavor in your drinks, but I personally don’t feel as though it needs it. Either way – Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup brandy
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 12 basil leaves
- 12 to 15 fresh cherries, pitted and halved
- 8 to 10 strawberries, stem removed and quartered (or halved depending on their size)
- 1 nectarine, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 peach, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 apricots, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 bottle of dry white wine
Instructions
- Place the brandy, sugar and basil in a large pitcher and stir for about a minute or two. You want most of the sugar to dissolve, but don’t worry if it still looks grainy; it will dissolve while resting later. (Side note: Don’t underestimate how much space the fruit will take up – there is a lot, so opt for a larger pitcher rather than err on the smaller side…)
- Add the prepared fruit to the pitcher and pour in the wine. Stir everything together well.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Serve in ice filled glasses. Make sure to add some of the fruit from the pitcher to each glass.
