Blood of the Orange

The British reportedly call their Spanish playgrounds "Sun, sea, sex, and sangria." None of which is found in England. I guess the sea can. Which is cold, like, well, at least one of the other three.

I've had sangria a few times. In my book it's another summertime, poolside drink. My calendar seems to be written by someone in San Diego. (Oregon, actually.) But I bought the fruit and the Syraz, mixed it up ahead of time, gave it time to chill out.

I broke my usual kosher rule of not mixing fruit with alcohol and sliced an orange, lime, and half a lemon. The recipe called for equal parts brandy and cointreau, club soda added right before drinking.

I didn't pour the club soda in the pitcher when I was ready to imbibe, which is what the recipe called for. I poured some of the mix in a tall glass over ice, then added a little of the soda. No fruit. Verdict: not the best sangria I've ever drunk. Not that I remember the other few times. The club soda just watered it down.

Wikipedia says the main ingredients of a sangria are red wine, a sweetener (sometimes OJ, after a hotel heist, sometimes honey), brandy and/or orange liqueur, and the orchard. Carbonation optional. Next time I'd leave the out and maybe try honey as a sweetener.

Postscript: I made another ale flip. Instead of, like last night, heating just a little of the ale in the pan with lemon juice to melt the sugar and ginger, I poured in the whole bottle. I also upped the ginger to a half teaspoon and used sugar syrup. Verdict: I still really couldn't taste the ginger, but it's good warm. If salmonella is in the yolk, though, I'm doomed.