Pumpkin Spice Sangria

White sangria is such a refreshing drink. It’s almost summery, but why say goodbye to summer when you can add a touch of fall to it to keep it in season? I thought the perfect party punch for fall would be to add a pumpkin spice touch to my favorite white sangria, and let me tell you, if you’re a pumpkin spice fan, this is going to be your new fall favorite.

Just a warning though – you should plan ahead before you make this. This recipe is so worth it but it is time-consuming. You want to let that pumpkin spice flavor really seep into the sangria. Patience really pays off. You’ll see!

Sure, you can buy pumpkin spice seasoning, but I find it’s so much better when you make it yourself. All it takes is ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I use the whole seasoning to really give it that intense flavor.

First, I made a simple syrup using about 2 inches of ginger, 2 whole nutmeg, 2 cinnamon sticks and about 10 cloves. I brought 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a simmer along with the spices, then removed it from the heat and let the spices steep in the simple syrup for about 2 hours. That’s the time-consuming part.

Once it had seeped enough, I strained the simple syrup. I reserved those spices to put into my sangria. For my sangria, I used 1 bottle of white wine, some of my pumpkin spice-infused simply syrup, brandy, and a little apple cider. I added my spices in and let it chill in my refrigerator overnight. By doing that, it allowed the spices to really infuse into the sangria, giving it that perfect balance of sweet and spice. Just before serving it, I sliced 1 red apple and added it into my sangria.

This recipe has all those cozy fall flavors in it, and it really warms your soul for the season. 

Pumpkin Spice Sangria

Ingredients

1 750 ml bottle of white wine (I used Bartenura Moscato)
1 1/2 cups of apple cider
1/4 cup of brandy
1/4 cup Amaretto
3/4 cup spiced simple syrup 

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients together. Give it a stir and serve 
After cooking the simple syrup strain the spices, and add to the sangria.

The spiced simple syrup gives the sangria a nice spiced taste, but the longer it sits in the drink the stronger the spiced flavor.  I let my spices sit in my sangria over night so the flavors really came through. 

Spiced Simple Syrup

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 cinnamon stick
2 inch ginger, peeled and sliced
10 cloves
2 nutmeg smashed 

Directions

Mix sugar and water in a sauce pan. 

Smash nutmeg, add cloves, cinnamon sticks, and sliced ginger. 

Bring to a boil

Remove from heat, infused simple syrup with the spices for about 2 hours. 

** If the simple syrup is made the day before the flavors blend together and has a more powerful taste. 

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