Sparkling Summer Sangria

This is my all-time favorite summer drink. I discovered it over a year ago when My Official Treat Taster’s sister was staying with us on vacation. We were in the mood for sangria but didn’t have any red wine on hand – just cheap cava. I worked diligently on this recipe and we drank every last glassful – food blogging’s a tough hobby, but someone has to do it! – until I came up with the perfect recipe.

See those clouds in the background? They are the first clouds we have seen in months! Since the beginning of August we have suffered through about 4 heat waves – all of which have fallen on weekends. And I’m not just talking about short, fairly hot spells. I’m talking about 100°F+ with more sunshine than I can stand over the course of 5 days. Who wants a heat wave which lasts 5 days?!

I love the sun and I am completely in love with summer, but I don’t want it to be so hot that I can’t even leave the house for fear of melting. So please, person-in-charge-of-weather, stop being so unreasonable. Maybe we can have a chat, share some Sparkling Summer Sangria and talk it over so Tenerife can have snowy winters, fresh springs, hot summers and chilly autumns instead of year-round sunshine. Go on, have a glass.

Sparkling Summer Sangria

Ingredients

½ orange, sliced

½ lemon, sliced

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons triple sec

1 tablespoon vodka

2 ½ cups cava

½ cup orange juice

½ cup lemonade

ice

Recipe

1. Drop the sliced orange and lemon into the serving jug and sprinkle on the sugar. Mash with a spoon until some of the juices escape from the fruit and dissolve the sugar.

2. Add as much ice as you want and pour the rest of the ingredients into the jug.

3. Mix well before serving

I want to hear the crackling of autumn leaves under my boots, not the crackling of my skin under the sun!

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