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This effervescent Cranberry Orange Red Sangria recipe is ready for the holidays with its seasonal flavors. Amazing for entertaining!

Overhead shot of pitcher and cocktail glasses full of sangria, cranberries, and oranges.

This is the sangria that will be generating a ton of buzz this year.

Fair warning: this is probably my booziest sangria recipe. Whoopsie! But let’s be real. The holidays are near; we’ve got things to celebrate and relatives to tolerate. So we might as well swing into it with our libations extra stiff! This red sangria incorporates cranberries and oranges into the mix along with a dose of brandy and a generous splash—or pour, whatever—of triple sec. It’s fragrant, bright, and dangerously delicious. So sip it slowly. Of course, you can easily add less brandy and triple sec if you wish.

Here’s how to make sangria with red wine.

Sangria comes in many varieties—whites, rosés, even slushies! But red is the classic, and it’s pretty straightforward. I like to use a Spanish wine, like Garnache (Grenache) or Tempranillo. To that, you can add liqueur, a non-alcoholic mixer like seltzer or fruit juice, cut up fruit, and a simple syrup if desired. I usually use a fruit juice as a mixer, which contains enough sugar for me, so it’s very rare that I add simple syrup to my sangria. Totally a personal preference kind of thing, though!

Scope out the ingredient list for this Cranberry Orange Red Sangria recipe.

Unlike my Caramel Apple Red Sangria, this sangria keeps things more traditional and offers up more of a classic flavor with brandy and triple sec in the mix. The triple sec works wonderfully by adding a little more orange flare to the mix to compliment the cranberry-orange vibe. Here’s a full list of what you’ll need to make this sangria:

Red wine, preferably a Spanish wine like Garnache or Tempranillo
Brandy
Triple Sec
Cranberry juice
Fresh-squeezed orange juice
Orange-flavored seltzer
Orange slices
Fresh Cranberries

And here’s how to make it!

One of my favorite things about sangria is that it’s so simple. No muddling or shaking or anything fancy—just dump everything into a pitcher and go! Here’s the gist on how to make this fabulously easy drink:

Drop the cranberries and orange slices into the bottom of a large pitcher.
Add the orange juice, brandy, triple sec, red wine, and cranberry juice, then give everything a good stir.
Refrigerate the sangria for at least an hour so you can serve it nice and chilled.
Before serving, top the sangria off with the orange-flavored seltzer water.

Equipment you’ll need:

Recipe tips + tricks:

Pop the sangria in the fridge for about an hour before serving so it’s chilled.
This recipe calls for freshly squeezed orange juice, but store-bought is fine. Just make sure there’s no pulp.
If you feel the need to add a sweetener, you can use a simple syrup, honey, or agave nectar.
In order to keep this drink a little tamer, use 1/3 cup brandy and 2 tablespoons of triple sec instead.
Short on time and plan to serve this right after making it? Add some ice to the pitcher and offer ice to people for their glasses. You could also freeze the cranberries before hand and add them into the sangria frozen, to help keep it cool.

Here are more cocktails to bust out:

Hope you enjoy!

If you plan on making this recipe, be sure to snap a pic and tag us on Insta! @killing__thyme.

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