Impress your guests with this Easy Blackberry Sangria! This Carrabba’s copycat recipe is the perfect summer drink to elevate happy hour!
Springtime and warmer weather has me craving time to be outside and with friends. What goes better with summer days than a cold glass of blackberry sangria and some girlfriends? Not much!
I was lucky enough to have Carrabba’s Famous Blackberry Sangria while visiting Maryland a few years ago. I loved this sweet, fruity punch! There are no Carrabba’s in Delaware (yet!) so I decided to recreate this simple recipe at home.
Feeling inspired to make and serve delicious sangria? Try this Blood Orange Tea Sangria. Homemade sweet tea is combined with white wine and a homemade orange honey simple syrup for the most refreshing porch drink. Or, try this Peach Sangria with Rose Wine. This sangria highlights the best of late summer produce, peaches!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Compared to a glass or a pitcher of sangria at Carrabba’s, this sangria is inexpensive to make at home.
- This recipe makes a large pitcher of sangria. It is perfect to make for a gathering.
- It is loaded with fresh fruit to add a healthy twist and extra flavor!
Ingredients
A few simple ingredients are needed to make this flavorful drink!
- An Italian Red Wine is the base for this sangria. I chose a dry red wine.
- Blackberry Brandy adds extra blackberry flavor as well as a strong aromatic to the fun drink.
- A homemade Blackberry Syrup gives the drink extra blackberry flavor without any alcohol.
- The tartness of the Cranberry Juice balances the sweetness of the sangria.
- Fresh blackberries, orange slices and lemon slices are used to garnish.
- If you like a bubbly finish, top the sangria with your favorite lemon-lime soda such as sprite (not photographed).
For precise measurements, see below recipe card.
Substitutions and Variations
- If you do not enjoy dry red wine, use a sweet red Italian wine.
- For less alcohol content, eliminate the Blackberry Brandy and use more Blackberry Simple Syrup.
- Cranberry juice can be substituted with orange juice or grape juice.
- Substitute citrus fruits with other fresh fruits such as raspberries, apples or strawberries.
- Use Monin Blackberry Syrup instead of making your own simple syrup. Buy it here!
- Substitute the sprite with ginger ale or club soda.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Add red wine, blackberry brandy, blackberry simple syrup and cranberry juice to a large pitcher.
Step 2: Add blackberries, orange slices and lemon slices to the pitcher.
Step 3: Stir together all ingredients. Refrigerate for an hour.
Step 4: Serve sangria over ice cubes. Garnish with a slice of lemon, orange and blackberries.
FAQ
Blackberry Simple Syrup is easy to make at home.
1. Simply combine 6 oz blackberries, 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan over medium heat on the stove.
2. Stir to dissolve sugar.
3. Bring liquid to a low boil and then turn heat to low. Press down on blackberries so that they release their juice. Let syrup simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and let cool.
5. Remove blackberries from the syrup. Store refrigerated in an airtight container.
Yes, you can make Blackberry Sangria using a white wine. This white sangria will be a refreshing drink with a softer flavor than the red version! Keep in mind, the blackberry simple syrup and blackberry brandy will darken the color of sangria. Using white wine will make this a lighter cocktail.
Yes, you can make sangria ahead of time. Combine all liquid ingredients and refrigerate. For best results, add the fresh fruit a few hours before you plan to serve the sangria. When fruit is kept in the sangria for long periods of time (overnight), it can become mealy and withered.
The best red wine for sangria is one that you love! I like to use a cabernet sauvignon.
Serve this sangria chilled over ice. Use a fun glass such as a mason jar or a stemless wine glass. Place blackberries on a skewer on top of the glass and fruit slices on the ice. Presentation is a everything with this delicious cocktail.
Related
Looking for other simple, large batch cocktails? Try one of these recipes:
Pairing
These are my favorite snacks to pair with sangria:
Easy Blackberry Sangria (Copycat Carrabba’s Recipe)
Equipment
- Large Pitcher
- Large Spoon
Ingredients
- 1 bottle Italian Red Wine
- 1 cup Blackberry Brandy
- 1/2 cup Blackberry Simple Syrup
- 1 cup Cranberry Juice
- 1 Lemon sliced
- 1 Orange sliced
- 1 cup Blackberries
- Lemon Slices, Orange Slices, Blackberries to garnish
Instructions
- Add red wine, blackberry brandy, blackberry simple syrup and cranberry juice to a large pitcher.
- Stir to combine liquid ingredients.
- Add blackberries, orange slices and lemon slices. Refrigerate for an hour.
- Serve chilled sangria over ice with fresh fruit as a garish.
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