Blackberry Sangria Recipe

macerate blackberries

Place 2 cups fresh blackberries in a medium bowl. Lightly muddle (smash) about half of them with the 1/4 cup blackberry syrup and 1/4 cup simple syrup until juices release but some berries remain whole for texture (about 20–30 seconds).

prepare citrus

Zest one lemon and set zest aside if you want extra aroma (optional). Juice the lemon, lime, and orange to yield about 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup lime juice and 1/2 cup orange juice. Cut the squeezed citrus into thin slices for garnish.

In a large pitcher (about 2–2.5 liters), combine the fresh lemon juice, lime juice, and orange juice. Stir in the muddled blackberries along with their syrup and any accumulated juices.

Add 3 cups chilled lemon-lime soda to the pitcher, but hold off adding all the soda if you plan to serve immediately — adding some just before serving keeps fizz. Stir gently to combine.

Pour 1 liter of chilled white wine into the pitcher. If using, add 1/4 cup vodka or white rum to give the sangria more body. Taste and adjust sweetness with additional simple syrup (add by tablespoons) or blackberry syrup if desired.

Cover the pitcher and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours to allow flavors to meld. For a stronger infused berry flavor, refrigerate up to 12 hours, but add the soda only just before serving to maintain carbonation.

When ready to serve, stir the sangria gently. Fill individual glasses halfway with ice cubes (about 1/2 cup ice per serving).

Divide the sliced lemon, lime, orange and extra whole blackberries among the glasses (about 2 slices of each citrus and 2 blackberries per glass).

Pour sangria into glasses, leaving a little room at the top. If you refrigerated the sangria without soda, top each glass with a splash (about 2–3 tbsp) of chilled lemon-lime soda to add fizz. If soda was already mixed in, simply pour.

Garnish each glass with a citrus slice on the rim and serve with a long spoon or straw so drinkers can scoop berries from the bottom.