When I was little, my family hosted an annual father-daughter Halloween party. Imagine a gaggle of pop-culturally aware 8-year-olds dressing up their dads as variants of Dennis Rodman (including the neon spray-painted hair).
We replaced our guest bathroom light bulb with a black light (so spooky!), and my dad and I convinced the local seafood department to give us a big chunk of dry ice to put near the punch bowl.
I still love Halloween just as much, but I’ve traded the Butterfinger, Twix, and punch for pinot noir and mandarin blossom vodka (is this what they mean by #adulting?!).
This fall-inspired sangria strikes a perfect balance of tricks and treats — it’s loaded with figs, apple, and cinnamon and is topped off with a creepy floating ice hand for a good-spirited spook!
Traditionally, sangria is a mixture of wine, booze, sugar, and fruit. Use the ingredients below as suggestions and stick to the proportions, but you can substitute ingredients you have on hand (like a different type of red wine, Cointreau instead of orange vodka, or simple syrup instead of date syrup).
Ingredients
- 3 plastic gloves (for decoration)
- 1 (750-milliliter) bottle pinot noir
- 5 ounces date syrup (or simple syrup)
- 4 ounces brandy
- 2 1/2 ounces mandarin blossom vodka (or Cointreau or Grand Marnier)
- 8 fresh figs, sliced lengthwise
- ½ apple, sliced thin
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2–3 star anise pods
Directions
- To make ice hands, fill plastic gloves with water, tie off ends, and freeze overnight.
- Whisk pinot noir, date syrup, brandy, and vodka together in a punch bowl.
- Add figs, apple, cinnamon sticks, and star anise pods. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, add ice hand(s) to punch bowl. Ladle sangria into individual wine glasses with a large ice cube.
This post originally appeared on FOOD LA LA.
Lindsay is the founder of FOOD LA LA and believes deeply in the healing power of creativity — leveraging food as the perfect blank canvas. Follow her creations on her website and Instagram!
