If you’re looking for a beverage to serve a crowd at your holiday gathering, this Pomegranate-Pear Sangria is the solution!
My husband is a master mixologist, but when we have a group of people over for a holiday dinner, I always hate for him to be playing bartender and making individual cocktails for everyone, because then he misses out on the fun himself.
This holiday sangria is the perfect solution, because it is mixed up well ahead of time, and placed in the fridge to allow the flavors to come together.
When your guests arrive, you simply set out the pitcher, and they can serve themselves. Plus, your guests can control the strength of the alcohol by adding more or less club soda to their liking.
Prepare the sangria ahead of time
To a glass pitcher, add the sugar, Cabernet and vodka. Add pear slices, pomegranate seeds, and rosemary sprigs. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but overnight is even better, because it gives the pears more time to release their juices. Plus, then it’s done and one less thing for you to worry about the day of your gathering.
Because of the number of guests we had coming, we made a two pitchers of this sangria. In one we used the Ciroc Snap Frost Vodka, and in the second pitcher we used a less expensive vodka. I have to say, the Ciroc Snap Frost is expensive, but we all agreed it did make for a smoother sangria. However, if we hadn’t been able to taste-test the two versions side-by-side, I’m not sure we would have noticed the difference. Because of all the other competing flavors in this sangria, I’d probably just use the less expensive vodka next time.
Serving the sangria
When our family started arriving, we put the pitcher on the table with glasses, some cute straws, and Christmas cocktail napkins. Each person could pour their own drink over ice, and top with the desired level of club soda to make it as weak or as strong as they liked.
For our family members who weren’t of drinking age yet, we set out a bottle of sparkling grape juice, so they could still feel included, by making a “drink” with the pretty glasses and garnishes. 😃
Garnish to make it extra pretty
To make each glass of sangria extra special, reserve some pear slices, pomegranate seeds and rosemary sprigs to garnish each glass. I found these buffalo plaid straws and Christmas cheer cocktail napkins at Hobby Lobby.
And if you’re lucky, like we were, you’ll have weather in the 50s (in Iowa!), and you can take your drink outside to enjoy on the porch.
Pomegranate-Pear Sangria
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 bottle Cabernet Sauvignon 750 ml
- 8 oz vodka
- 2 Bartlett pears thinly sliced
- 2 Anjou pears thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
- 4 fresh rosemary sprigs
- 24 oz club soda
- ice cubes for serving
- extra rosemary, pear slices and pom seeds for garnishes
Instructions
- Combine sugar, red wine, and vodka in a large pitcher. Add pear slices, pomegranate seeds, and rosemary.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, but overnight is better.
- Before serving, add ice and top with club soda. You can add this directly to the pitcher, but I prefer to add ice to individual glasses, and allow guests to pour sangria and top with their desired amount of club soda, in order to control the strength of the drink.You can also set out pomegranate juice for guests to mix in if they want their drink even less strong.
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