Tart, fruity and spicy, this apple cider sangria is made with fresh apple cider, spiced rum, fresh fruit and spices.
If you’re looking for something fun and different to serve this year, look no further than this apple cider sangria! This spiced fall drink is the perfect meld of wine, liquor and fun and fruit flavors. For the most fusion, make 24 hours before serving.
The spiced rum paired with cinnamon sticks and a clove really bring out the autumn flavors; it’s like fall in a glass! Lightly sweetened with fresh apple cider and cranberry juice and a dash of maple syrup. Maple syrup is truly a quintessential fall flavor!
Vegan Wine
Believe it or not, most wines are not vegan. A typical wine is clarified during a process calling “fining”. Traditional animal by-products that are fining agents include: isinglass (fish bladder protein), gelatin (animal protein), albumin (egg whites), and casein (milk protein).
Some wine bottles are labeled vegan or vegan friendly but since there aren’t that many, a vegan wine can be hard to find. The Barnivore does a great job helping to identify vegan and non-vegan wines.
I personally have found that the organic section of a liquor store or liquor department (like in Whole Foods) has a higher likelihood of stocking vegan wines.
The Ingredients
The wine. For this sangria, I used a Bread and Butter Pinot Noir. I like the traditional fruity and lighter notes in Pinot Noir; they pair well with the fall fruits used in this sangria.
The liquor. To give the sangria a bit of a spiced taste and aroma, I opted to use the Kraken Black Spiced Rum. If a strong spicy note is not your style, you can use a regular dark rum, not spiced. For an orange profile, we added Cointreau orange liqueur. Both Kraken and Cointreau are verified vegan.
The juice. We used fresh apple cider and unsweetened cranberry juice to add to the fruity fall vibe.
Fresh fruit. We’re adding tart cranberries and fresh sliced apples to the mix.
Spices. The spiced rum does a heck of a job on it’s own but to help truly bring the fall flavors out, we added cinnamon sticks and a clove.
This recipe is for a party or gathering and we served it in a 2 gallon drink dispenser like this one here. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and top with fruit!
Apple Cider Sangria
Ingredients
- 3 750ml bottles of wine
- 1 cup black spiced rum
- 3/4 cup Cointreau or orange liqueur
- 5 cups apple cider
- 2 cups unsweetened cranberry juice
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 whole clove
- 6 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 cups cranberries
- 2 large apples, sliced
- 1 liter sparkling water/soda
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients except the sparkling soda to a drink dispenser or pitcher and stir.
- Chill overnight (recommended).
- Fill 2/3 of a glass, add sparkling water and then garnish with cranberries, apples and a cinnamon stick, if you like.
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