Happy 4th to you!  Generally, the holiday includes sparklers, fireworks viewing, and a cookout with family and friends. 

In our house it also means sangria:  The perfect summer drink.  Despite being Spanish in origin, it seems to pair well with all kinds of cookout foods and is my favorite ‘go to’ beverage for 4th of July celebrations.  Also, it’s red.  That should count for something on the most renowned of the “red, white, and blue” holidays!  Here I’m sharing my current favorite sangria recipe.

 I use the term “recipe” loosely since I rarely measure anything, but this is an infinitely flexible beverage and pretty much all variations are good…just keep tasting and adding until you achieve your own definition of perfection!

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of dry red wine
• 1 small container orange juice
• 1 can frozen lemonade concentrate
• ½ c simple syrup
• ½ c triple sec
• ½ c brandy
• sliced lemon, lime, and orange
• ½ small jar of maraschino cherries
• 2 c sparkling something…mandarin orange seltzer, Asti Spumanti, ginger ale…

Mix all ingredients except seltzer in a large pitcher and refrigerate (up to overnight), add seltzer just before serving.  To up the celebratory flair, garnish with a skewer of fruit. 

Leftover (really, there’s leftover???) sangria can be stored in the fridge.  Remove the citrus slices before storing to prevent bitterness.

Enjoy!