How To Make a Sangria Cocktail

I am really excited because today is the debut of my first tutorial video.  I have been wanting to use more videos here on the blog, mostly because I am such a visual learner and I believe it is easier for most of us if we can see it, along with reading.   The reason it hasn’t happened earlier is that I had **NO** idea how to edit a video in any way shape or form.  Lucky for me I have some pretty A*M*A*Z*I*N*G friends.  One that I am loving BIG time right now is the fabulous Ms. Shiels better known as Ms. Spielberg…  she is of course a big time famous artist in her day job, but she also is a wiz on the computer and Photoshop and i-movie.  Well Ms. Shiels I mean Ms. Spielberg popped over here on Thursday and spent almost four hours giving me a tutorial on how to use i-movie.  I was so freaking excited by the time she left, and she knew it.  She told me as she was leaving that she was worried (ha, ha) that  I would be calling her in the middle of the night with video questions because I couldn’t wait to get started.  She was right, the brake lights from her car were in still in my sight as I started shooting this video.

So please let me know whatchya’ think and if there is any “how to” or “recipes” videos in particular you guys would like to see.

With that being said please watch my “How To Make a Sangria Cocktail” video.  Here is a secret… I had to do these shots several times.  After I started editing I would change my mind on how I had made a clip and reshoot it,  so I made quite a few cocktails.  I stuck a few extra cocktails in the fridge overnight and had one Friday evening and it was still quite delicious, so I learned that this cocktail can be made in advance.  The only change would be to add the splash of wine to each individual glass before drinking or serving.

Sangria is served throughout Spain and Portugal during summer.  Sangria is a refreshing party drink around the world. In the US, Sangria was first tasted at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. Sangria is typically served as a punch and it is a great cocktail to serve to a large group at a party.  Sangria is basically a mix of wine, juices, soda water and fruit. Any young red wine can be used in a traditional recipe, especially Rioja.  As a twist in this recipe I used St. Germain; because I think the Elderflower liquor makes everything taste better, and in this drink it worked wonders.

Instead of buying a whole pineapple I purchased some pre-cut in the produce section at the store.  You can use any mix of berries you would like, the only fruit I would definitely recommend you use is the orange and pineapple.

Keep your simple syrup in the fridge to use in your ice tea and other cocktails for at least two weeks.  I made a batch using raw sugar which made a more brown syrup and then with granulated sugar.  If you will be using the simple syrup in a clear beverage go with the granulated, but if you are going to use it in a darker beverage I prefer using the raw sugar.