Summertime Is Sangria Time

The days are longer, and the heat is real, which means only one thing: It's finally summer. While playing outdoor games, hiking, and visiting the beach are our top favorite activities in summer, there's one more thing we enjoy a lot in summer. Can you guess what it is? Making and drinking fabulous cocktails and other drinks. In our opinion, a beverage, especially a cocktail in the summertime, has a singular purpose: It must make you feel refreshed. So whether you're hanging poolside or barbecuing in the backyard, there's nothing better than enjoying the warm weather with a summery ice-cold beverage in hand. So we thought of sharing a few of our favorite summer drinks with you today.

Sangria Recipe

Our first drink is good old sangria. Do you remember the fantastic slushies that we loved when we were young? This boozy, fruity frozen sangria is an adult version of that icy slushies we slurped down as kids. So refreshing on a hot summer night. Cheers!

You can make up to 6 servings with this recipe (serving size: about 3/4 cup ice and 1 orange slice)

Below are all the ingredients you will need to make this on your own for your next summer party.

Ingredients needed:

• 1 cup of cabernet sauvignon or any other dry red wine
• 1 cup of water
• 1 package of frozen mixed berries (16-ounce) 
• 1 orange, thinly sliced 
• 2/3 cup of fresh orange juice (you will need to use about 3 oranges)
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 6 orange slices

 Now that you have the ingredients, let's make the sangria, shall we? 

Directions to follow:

Step 1: Combine the cabernet sauvignon, water, mixed berries, and orange in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with cling wrap or a lid and chill for at least 8 hours.

Step 2: After 8 hours, take the bowl out and remove the orange from it.

Step 3: Now, press the berry mixture through a sieve over a bowl; discard the solids that will collect in the sieve. 

Step 4: Combine the berry mixture, orange juice, and sugar in an 8-inch dish, stirring well until sugar dissolves completely. 

Step 5: Then cover the bowl and freeze for about 45 minutes. After it is frozen, take it out and stir the berry mixture with a fork. Then put it back in the refrigerator. Repeat this process in 45-minute intervals for at least four hours until you get a slush-like consistency.

Step 6: After 4 hours, remove the berry mixture from the freezer, and scrape the mixture with a fork once more until fluffy. Put the mix into any cup or glass of choice. Garnish with orange slices. And serve.

We have given the nutritional information below for the smarties who are curious about the number of calories in this slushie. So you can take a look and be assured that this slushie does not have more than the recommended calories.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 132 (4% from fat), Fat:0.7g (sat 0.1g,mono 0.1g,poly 0.2g), Protein:1g, Carbohydrate:26.2g, Fiber:3.2g, Cholesterol:0.0 mg, Iron:0.4 mg, Sodium:4 mg, Calcium: 31 mg

Smarty tip:

We know by experience that one serving is not enough. So make enough to share this delicious sangria with friends this summer by serving it in a large pitcher over plenty of Party Ice.

Our next drink is both yummy and pretty. We are sure you'll love it just like us. 

Strawberry Cocktail

To make 2 servings, you will need:

• 1oz of lime juice
• 1 0z of honey
• 1oz of liqueur
• 3 oz of tequila
• A spring of mint 
• 8 strawberries

Into a bowl, add sliced strawberries and mint leaves. Muddle them together. Then add lime juice and honey into it and muddle again. Put the muddled mixture into a carafe, add orange liqueur, tequila, and ice cubes, and close it with a lid. Give the carafe a good shake. Serve the drink in a glass garnished with a slice of strawberry. You can refrigerate the drink without using ice too. 

Cucumber and Lime Cocktail

Ingredients:

• Lime juice
• Cucumber (thinly sliced)
• Mint leaves
• Honey
• Tequila Blanco
• Ice cubes

Directions:

Add 8 slices of cucumber and a spring of mint leaves into a tumbler. Muddle them a little. Then add 2 oz of lime juice and muddle again. Finally, add 1 oz of honey, 4 oz of tequila, and ice cubes and shake well. Serve with more ice! Don't forget to garnish with a mint leaf too! 

The recipe yields two servings.

Vodka with Aperol

To make this delicious drink, you need lime, vodka, Aperol, orange juice, lime juice, and sugar (we recommend using brown sugar. Any sugar works, though). If you don't enjoy using sugar, you can also use honey, agave syrup, or maple syrup. 

First, cut two limes into small chunks. Add about 4 chunks per glass. Then add sugar to it. Then muddle the lime and sugar together. Add a good amount of ice cubes. Pour Aperol over the ice. We used about .5 0z to 1oz per glass. Then add .5 oz of lime juice to each glass. Next, add about 1 oz of orange juice again to each glass. Top off with your favorite vodka. And stir. Garnish with a slice of lime, and drink away! You can mess around with the quantity until you find a good taste.

Watermelon Cocktail

Into a tumbler, add mint leaves and watermelon chunks. Muddle them together. Add 3 0z of vodka into the tumbler. Then add 1.5 oz of watermelon juice. Add some ice cubes and shake well. Strain and pour into two glasses. Then add ice into the glasses. Top off with watermelon-flavored seltzer. You can also use pineapple flavor instead of watermelon.

Which cocktail recipe was your favorite? Let us know on our Facebook page. 

 

Party on, Smarties! With love, Smarty had a Party!