All the ingredients gathered in the Boondocks Gang kitchen and ready to go!
Several times a year, my husband and I get together with a long-time group of friends. We call ourselves “The Boondocks Gang.” This name came about many years ago when we were having dinner at a little place in Guntersville called Boondocks. We thought we needed a name and that just seemed perfect for us.
This year we decided to gather for the Fourth of July. We always have a theme – of course, this year’s theme was a no-brainer! We had plenty of patriotic hats and red, white and blue USA beads. Sometimes we even have a signature cocktail thanks to my sweet friend Karen, who loves throwing things together and creating the perfect drink.
I had tried a fabulous white wine sangria at Melt Restaurant in Avondale a few weeks ago and have been thinking about it ever since. So, I suggested we make a sparkling sangria for our signature drink this time. We (the girls) had just spent our usual first full day at the lake making our thrift store jaunt…funny how we’ve gotten into a certain routine with our trips! Always fun…we love looking for bargains and then coming back to the lake house and recalling our day over wine or other cocktails. This time we couldn’t wait to get started and got right into sangria making! I almost couldn’t get everyone to slow down enough to take the preparation photos!
A pretty shot of the oranges – waiting to be squeezed into the mixture.
Before I get into the recipe we used, I thought I would add a quick little history of Sangria. I was surprised to read that sangria was first introduced to the United States at the World Fair in 1964! Sangria has its roots in Spain. It is traditionally red but can also be made with white wine or “cava” which is the Spanish version of sparkling wine. There is also an interesting post called “Blood, Wine and War: The History of Sangria” that talks about when the Romans conquered Spain and were the first to plant the vineyards that produced the red varietal grapes that make the best wine. They called the drink Sangria which meant “blood” because of its red color. (The Spanish word for blood is “sangre.” ) The SangriaSecrets.com website also has some interesting recipes I may try too! Their Cranberry-Orange sangria sounds interesting…
Now back to present day…
Karen remembered a recipe from Columbia Restaurant and quickly looked it up on her phone. Honestly, what did we ever do without Google and our smart phones? We started with a full bottle of Cupcake Prosecco. Next we added Brandy, Grand Marnier and Rose’s Lemon Juice. Freshly squeezed oranges and a can of Sprite (lemon-lime soda) followed. Oh, and Karen never measured a thing…she’s just that good! We cut up limes, more oranges and added a maraschino cherry to each glass. Finally, we added ice to the pitcher and began pouring. I have to say the glasses looked beautiful! We all grabbed our glasses, gathered in front of the fireplace while my husband took several pictures of us posing with our sparkling 4th of July cocktails.
I thought this would be a girls only drink but the guys were watching us make this refreshing beverage and wanted some too! So, on to making pitcher #2! Sorry, no picture of the guys drinking this fruity drink. They wouldn’t pose…
SALUD!
Cheers from the Boondocks Gang ladies!
One of our outtakes!
Salud!…from me and Karen!
Southern Señora 