The Perfect Summer Cocktail: Tropical Breezes Sangria #sangria #wine #summersips

Face it...Summer is custom made for drinking sangria! The combination of refreshing chilled wine, fruit juice, and fresh fruit is perfect for warm Summer nights. The sangria recipe I’m sharing today takes me back to vacations in Cancun in the mid-to-late 90s. Our days were full of adventures like visiting Mayan ruins, snorkeling in turquoise-blue water, and shopping. Evenings featured fresh seafood, hearty laughs with dear friends, and warm breezes…all paired with fruity tropical cocktails. Sitting on the edge of the Caribbean under the stars...without a care in the world…those are some really great memories! My Tropical Breezes Sangria takes us back to the Caribbean from the first sip. 

This fruity sangria features coconut water and pineapple-orange juice...then I up the ante with limoncello replacing the typical orange liqueur found in sangria. Finally, I add a bit of lemon-lime soda for a fun, refreshing fizz. One sip of this island-inspired sangria, and you're immediately transported to a tropical beach paradise. Come…let me whisk you away to the tropics…even if it’s only as far away as your backyard!

Tropical Breezes Sangria

a Weekend Gourmet Original

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle chilled sweet white wine -- Moscato is perfect!
• ½ cup limoncello (lemon liqueur)
• ½ cup lemon-flavored simple syrup**
• 8 ounces coconut water, chilled
• 8 ounces pineapple-orange juice, chilled
• 8 ounces lemon-lime soda, chilled [NOTE: I use sugar-free soda]
• 1 naval orange, sliced
• 1 lime, sliced
• 1 cup fresh pineapple segments
• 1 mango, peeled and diced
• 1 kiwi, peeled and sliced

**NOTE: If you can’t find prepared lemon simple syrup, it’s easy to make. Add ½ cup water, ½ sugar, and the juice and zest of 1 lemon to a small saucepan. Stir to dissolve and bring to boil. Let cool and use.

Directions:

Step 1: Add the fresh fruit to the bottom of a large clear pitcher. [NOTE: if you're serving the sangria outdoors, freeze the fruit before adding to the pitcher -- it'll keep your sangria chilled longer!] Add the lemon simple syrup, and give everything a good stir. At this point, you can refrigerate the pitcher until you’re ready to serve. I like to do this part a few hours before I plan to serve the sangria -- it really lets the fruit flavors mingle and combine!

Step 2: Add the chilled wine, coconut water, pineapple-orange juice, and lemon-lime soda to the pitcher. Stir to combine and pour the sangria into glasses. Garnish with slices of pineapple and/or citrus. I particularly like to pair this sangria with a big bowl of guacamole and warm salted tortilla chips to really take me back to the beach!

Wow…this sangria is truly like a tropical vacation in a glass!  The coconut and pineapple give it a bit of a pina colada flavor profile, and the lemon-lime soda provides refreshing fizz. I may not be psychic, but I predict this sangria will be a big part of my celebrations this Summer -- it will be so refreshing on a hot Texas Summer evening!

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