Sangaree for Every Season

Most people aware of Gins place as our national spirit, how it has become intertwined in the history and tradition of merry old England, and what a damn fine thing tradition is. Like the consumption of Port wine, another great English drinking tradition, a tradition which grew out of one of our many fisticuffs with the French, terrible times when our supply of wine was rudely interrupted, times when our dear Portuguese allies were so willing to step in and fill this void.

So any way, point is tradition is lovely, what is ever more endearing though is when two traditions meet, creating something new, something unusual, and dare I say it when speaking of Port, but something cheeky... Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, the Sangaree

Sangaree is a corruption of the Spanish Sangria, the very same fruity beverage many of us have imbibed on the beach on the Costa del Sol or in a cheap latin themed restaurant, this drink however wasn't always made with cheap red wine, budget brandy and artificial orange juice, it was originally a simple mix of fortified wine such as sherry, port or madeira, diluted with a brisk shake, slightly sweetened and dusted with nutmeg. Jerry Thomas makes mention of several styles of Sangaree in The Bon Vivant's Companion, one with Brandy, the predecessor to what we drink today and a rather interesting one with gin.

The recipe calls to make the Gin Sangaree in the same way as a Gin Toddy with a float of Port Wine and a dust of nutmeg, a recipe which would look a little something like this;

Gin Sangaree

Gin - 50ml

Still Water - 25ml

Simple Sugar Syrup - 5ml

Port Wine - 15ml (float)

An interesting origin of the modern Sangria, not quite as fruity, shorter and considerably more fortified. I prefer a slightly different method, swizzling the gin and syrup over crushed ice to achieve the desired dilution whilst adding sufficient chill to the'. The beauty of this drink is it works with a wide variety of gin's although those on the heavy juniper side of things fair rather well.

As much as the simplicity of this drink works to it's advantage there are some additions which can add some rather interesting twists to this drink, tailoring it to your mood, your guest or even the weather...

Around Christmas I began experimenting with mulled wine inspired port, cooking up a mulled port concentrate by adding sugar and various herbs and spices, most notably cinnamon, nutmeg, bay leaves and citrus peel before lengthening this concentrate with more of the Port used to create it. When I discovered the Sangaree I was immediately tempted to put my mulled port to use.

Mulled Sangaree

Martin Millers Gin - 50ml

Simple Sugar Syrup - 5ml

Mulled Port Wine - 15ml (float)

Swizzle the gin and syrup in a wine glass with crushed ice, float the mulled port and garnish with a dusting of freshly grated Nutmeg.

An interesting twist on the Gin Sangaree with plenty of winter warming spice complementing the black pepper and orange notes of Martin Millers, as with the Gin Sangaree there is no need for citrus to balance this drink, the dilution works wonders. A lovely little winter beverage which also works particularly well served warm, combine the above ingredients with 25ml of water, warm in a saucepan but try not to heat over 78 degrees, we wouldn't want to burn off the alcohol, serve in a small glass tea cup with that aromatic dusting of nutmeg. 

So a winter warmer to see you through the rest of the cold months but summers just round the corner (hell who am I kidding this is England) but just in case, heres a twist on the Sangaree especially for those sunny days;

Summer Sangaree

Whitley Neill Gin - 50ml

White Port - 20ml

Velvet Falernum - 5ml

Swizzle all ingredients together with crushed ice in a wine glass, cap with crushed ice and perfume with a grapefruit zest. 

Velvet Falernum is an alcoholic syrup made from rum, lime and a variety of spices, most notably cloves and star anise, it is often used in Tiki style drinks but adds an interesting tropical spice to many libations. This style of Sangaree is rather different to the two above but still maintains the basic elements of the original drink. The soft orange notes of Physalis from the Whitley Neill work so well with the white fruit notes of the Port and the citrus and spice of the Velvet Falernum, the grapefruit zest adds a lovely aroma slightly better suited to a summer beverage than nutmeg.

Ingredient Notes

Mulled Port
Inspired by the English Christmas tradition of mulled wine whereby red wine is infused with various botanicals and served warm as a tasty winter treat.
To make mulled port start by concentrating the flavours and spice in a small  portion of the wine, this allows you to boil up a small portion of the wine to really infuse the flavours, although this sacrifices the alcohol content you are only using up a small volume of Port so not all is lost. For my mulled port I took 200ml of Ruby Port, heated it up in a saucepan with 100 grams of granulated sugar and the following botanicals;
- Orange Peel
- Lemon Peel
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Cloves
- Black Pepper
- Dried Bay Leaves
- Juniper Berries       
Bring the port mix to the boil then allow to simmer for about 4 minutes before straining out the botanicals. After you have your concentrate lengthen it with the remaining port until your happy with the flavour.


I hope you enjoy,

Umpleby