Tangerine Ginger Sake Sangria

Warm your winter with this sunny sake-based sangria that tastes like summer. Seriously, you will think it is August! Bursting with fresh ginger, crisp tangerine and a slight minty finish, this sangria is everything a mixed drink should be. You’ll almost not want to share!

1. Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Of course, if you want to make other ginger-flavored beverages throughout the week, then go ahead and double this recipe. It is great in lemonade, tea or over ice cream.

2. Add ginger. Remove from heat, and let steep 30 minutes.

3. Pour syrup through a fine sieve into a heat resistant container; discard ginger. Chill in the refrigerator. If you made extra, just store it in an airtight container for up to a week.

4. Thinly slice the tangerines and add them to the pitcher.

5. Add the fresh mint leaves to a glass with barely enough sake to cover and mull them. We aren’t using much mint in this recipe because its only purpose is to brighten the drink. I am not a huge fan of super sweet beverages and the mint adds a clean finish to this beverage.

6. Add the mulled mint and the remaining sake to the pitcher.

7. Add the chilled ginger syrup to the pitcher and mix well. I threw in a few more mint leaves because they are just so gorgeous with the bright orange tangerine slices. Almost too pretty to drink…almost!

8. For each glass you are going to serve the sangria in, sugar coat the rim. Just pour about 1/4 cup of granulated sugar into a shallow plate. Wipe the rim of the glass with a tangerine slice and then twist the wet rimmed glass in the sugar. Makes it all sparkly!

Enjoy!