Sangria

Sangria is basically a Spanish wine punch, and something that you should have tried by now! Most recipes recommend using a cheap spanish wine, because anything otherwise defeats the purpose. However, in this kitchen, the principle is that good and fresh ingredients make good food/drinks, so a Spanish wine was purchased for this Sangria.

To make this particular Sangria you would need:

Sugar syrup base :
a couple of sprigs of fresh spearmint (or mint) - this handful was snipped from the mint bucket
peel of 1 orange
peel of 1 lemon
1 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
2 cinnamon quills
3 cloves

1 bottle of Spanish red wine
1 bottle of tonic water (1.5 liters)
1 orange, sliced
1 apple, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
2 shots of brandy

boil the ingredients for the sugar syrup base over a medium heat for around 5-7 minutes

 meanwhile, let the wine breathe!

strain the sugar syrup and in a pitcher mix it with the wine, 1 orange chopped crosswise, 1 lemon chopped crosswise, 1 apple chopped into segments. Let steep overnight in the fridge. Before serving, top up with 1 bottle of tonic water and 2 shots of brandy (VSOP is good!) and mix well. Serve chilled!