Apple Cider Sangria Recipe
apple cider, brandy, orange & lemon juice, ginger, orange bitters, honey crisp apples, & champagne
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Ingredients
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Sangria Base
Fruit and Garnish
Finish — Sparkling
Method
Sangria Base
Make the honey-ginger infusion
In a small saucepan combine the honey and 2 tablespoons of the apple cider. Warm over low heat, stirring until the honey dissolves (do not boil). Add the sliced ginger to the warm honey-cider mixture and let steep off heat for 10 minutes to extract bright ginger flavor.
Combine base liquids
In a large pitcher (about 2-quart capacity), pour the remaining apple cider (about 3 ¾ cups), brandy, fresh orange juice, and fresh lemon juice. Strain the honey-ginger infusion through a fine mesh strainer into the pitcher, pressing on the ginger to release any remaining syrup. Discard the ginger solids. Stir in the orange bitters.
Fruit and Garnish
Prepare the fruit
Core and thinly slice the Honeycrisp apples into half-moons (leave peel on for color). Thinly slice the orange into rounds (reserve one or two rounds for garnish), and slice the lemon into thin rounds. Add all the sliced fruit to the pitcher and gently stir to combine so the fruit is evenly distributed.
Macerate
Cover the pitcher and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours. This chilling time allows the fruit to macerate and infuse the sangria with aromatics. If short on time, refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Finish — Sparkling
Assemble and serve
Just before serving, add the chilled champagne to the pitcher and gently stir to combine. Fill individual glasses halfway with ice (about ½ to 1 cup ice per glass depending on glass size). Spoon fruit into each glass and top with the sangria mixture, leaving about 1/2 inch headspace. Garnish each glass with a reserved orange round and a rosemary sprig if using.
Adjust sweetness & bitters
Taste one serving and adjust if needed: add up to 1 tablespoon additional honey (dissolve in a teaspoon of warm cider first) for more sweetness or 1–2 more dashes of orange bitters for complexity. Stir gently after adding any adjustments.
Serve immediately
Serve the sangria immediately after adding the sparkling wine to retain effervescence. Leftovers may be refrigerated (without sparkling wine) for up to 48 hours; add chilled champagne just before serving again.