ROSÉ LYCHEE ELDERFLOWER SANGRIA

It would be an understatement to say that I’ve been on a bit of a rosé kick lately. And if you know me at all, you’ll know I really love sangria. So this summer, I decided to create a refreshing rosé sangria with floral, fruity notes to unite my favourite beverages! My Rosé Lychee Elderflower Sangria is a flirty, feminine twist on traditional sangria where an effervescent, dry rosé takes center stage, complimented by flavours of lychee, elderflower, lemon, white peach and strawberry (with lots of bubbles!). These pretty wine cocktails are best enjoyed with friends — whether you’re dining al fresco, hosting a summer dinner party, attending a baby shower, or prepping drinks for girls night! Yes way, rosé!

And do you know who else loves fabulous summer cocktails? My super talented food blogger friends, who I’ve teamed up with on this Connecting Over Cocktails collaborative post to kick off patio season! If you’re looking to really shake things up this summer, we’ve got some serious cocktail inspiration in store for you today. Check out the bottom of this post for five fresh, seasonal cocktail recipes from fellow Food Bloggers of Canada members. Cheers to sharing the love and connecting over cocktails!

ROSÉ LYCHEE ELDERFLOWER SANGRIA

Basically, if you took all my favourite summer flavours and threw them into a pitcher this is what you’d come up with — and that’s pretty much what I did! If you’ve been with me for awhile you’ve probably heard me gush about rosé, but if not I’ll do it again. I wasn’t a huge fan of rosé until last summer, when I discovered the world of dry, Spanish and Portuguese rosado (rosé). As someone who prefers dry wines in general, I fell in love with the rosé from this region! People often tend to think that rosé has to be sickly sweet and that’s just not the case. Some of my favourite bottles for sangria like the Mateus rosé I used in this recipe (or my other favourite vinho verde rosé) are dry and a little effervescent — I love the extra add fizz they add to this sangria. The best part is that you can find a great bottle of Spanish or Portuguese rosé for under $15!

My Rosé Lychee Elderflower Sangria has a fresh, fruity summer flavour profile of lychee, elderflower, lemon, white peach and strawberry. You probably already have some of these seasonal fruits in your kitchen and I love their ability to infuse the sangria with a natural, fruity sweetness. The sangria-laden fruit in this recipe is so delicious to snack on while you’re enjoying your cocktail!

The addition of lychee liquor adds vibrant floral and nutty notes, and a splash of elderflower syrup adds the perfect amount of tart sweetness. Lychee liquor is new to me and I love it in this recipe for that expected exotic twist — it was the perfect liqueur for this summery sangria and it smells absolutely incredible! If you’re curious about where to purchase, it’s pretty widely available, but I found mine at Sobey’s liquor stores.

Sangria is my beverage of choice when I’m hosting or attending a party. It’s so much fun to make as a group — we concoct the mixture in a large beverage dispenser, and taste as we go to make sure we have it just right. Guests can serve themselves, and it makes for minimal bottle clean-up at the end of the party! We usually split ingredients between everyone who’ll be drinking the sangria — one person brings wine, one person brings the liqueur, and one person brings mix and fruit, etc. Next time you’re entertaining, try serving a punch-style sangria — it always gets the party started, and people who don’t usually drink wine enjoy it, too!

INGREDIENTS

Yield: Makes about 4 litres — enough for a good party! But if you’re hosting 8+, double this recipe.

ALCOHOL

• 2 bottles of dry rosé
• 1/2 bottle (375ml) lychee liqueur

MIX

• 1/2 cup elderflower syrup (IKEA is your best bet!)
• 3 cans of Limonata (Lemon) San Pellegrino
• 2 cans of soda water

FRUIT & GARNISH

• 2 peaches (I used white in this recipe)
• 1/2 pint of strawberries
• 3 lemons
• Fresh elderflower or white lilac blossoms

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add the rosé and lychee liqueur to a large beverage dispenser.

2. Add elderflower syrup, San Pellegrino, then soda water. I generally prefer my sangria on the dry side, but if you prefer sweeter drinks you may want to add more Elderflower syrup and less Pellegrino and soda water. Make sure to taste (and stir) as you go!

3. Slice and squeeze 2 lemons into the mixture. Stir and taste. Slice another lemon to float on top as garnish.

4. Chop peaches and strawberries and add them to the beverage dispenser as garnish.

5. Pour the sangria into wine glasses, scooping out fruit to serve with each glass. Garnish with elderflower or white lilac blossoms (did you know they’re edible?) and enjoy!

Note: If you have leftover sangria (which doesn’t happen often), you can totally freeze it! Then, when you want to drink it, just allow it to unthaw about about 30 minutes — it’s delicious as a slush.

Print

ROSÉ LYCHEE ELDERFLOWER SANGRIA

Prep Time

15 mins

 

It would be an understatement to say that I've been on a bit of a rosé kick lately. And if you know me at all, you'll know I really love sangria. So this summer, I decided to create a refreshing rosé sangria with floral, fruity notes to unite my favourite beverages! My Rosé Lychee Elderflower Sangria is a flirty, feminine twist on traditional sangria where an effervescent, dry rosé takes center stage, complimented by flavours of lychee, elderflower, lemon, white peach and strawberry (with lots of bubbles!). These pretty wine cocktails are best enjoyed with friends -- whether you're dining al fresco, hosting a summer dinner party, attending a baby shower, or prepping drinks for girls night! Yes way, rosé!

Course: Drinks

Servings: 12

Author: Justine

Ingredients

ALCOHOL

• 2 bottles of dry rosé
• 1/2 bottle (375ml lychee liqueur)

MIX

• 1/2 cup elderflower syrup (IKEA is your best bet!)
• 3 cans of Limonata (Lemon San Pellegrino)
• 2 cans of soda water

FRUIT & GARNISH

• 2 peaches (I used white in this recipe)
• 1/2 pint of strawberries
• 3 lemons
• Fresh elderflower or white lilac blossoms

Instructions

1. Add the rosé and lychee liqueur to a large beverage dispenser.
2. Add elderflower syrup, San Pellegrino, then soda water. I generally prefer my sangria on the dry side, but if you prefer sweeter drinks you may want to add more Elderflower syrup and less Pellegrino and soda water. Make sure to taste (and stir) as you go!
3. Slice and squeeze 2 lemons into the mixture. Stir and taste. Slice another lemon to float on top as garnish.
4. Chop peaches and strawberries and add them to the beverage dispenser as garnish.
5. Pour the sangria into wine glasses, scooping out fruit to serve with each glass. Garnish with elderflower or white lilac blossoms (did you know they're edible?) and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

If you have leftover sangria (which doesn't happen often), you can totally freeze it! Then, when you want to drink it, just allow it to unthaw about about 30 minutes -- it's delicious as a slush.

CONNECTING OVER COCKTAILS LINK PARTY

Looking for more cocktail inspiration? Check out these mouth watering recipes from some of my favourite Canadian food bloggers! Not only are these guys crazy talented — their passion, creativity and dedication to their craft inspires me everyday. I’m so grateful to be a part of this community and lucky to call them my blogging friends — I hope you enjoy their blogs (and their recipes) just as much as I do! Cheers!

Cassie at Crumb Kitchen’s Spiked Strawberry Basil Lemonade

Dana at Killing Thyme’s Pineapple Pepper Punch

Jared at The Hesitant Chef’s Minted Cucumber & Gin Gimlet Cocktail

Sean at Diversivore’s Mezcalita Del Ocaso

Taylor at The Girl on Bloor’s Watermelon Cucumber Mojitos

And also, cheers to Kristy over at She Eats — the queen of all things booze-infused and delicious! She’s currently working on her first cookbook, Cooking with Cocktails, which drops later this year and is now available for pre-order. Randomly enough, we actually grew up in the same small town in rural Alberta. What a small world!

P.S. – You can index our recipes via social media with the hashtag #FBCconnectingovercocktails, if that’s your preferred method of browsing!

What’s you summer cocktail of choice? If you try my Rosé Lychee Elderflower Sangria (or any of the other cocktails in this roundup) leave me a comment below, or tag me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook! Use the hashtag #justinecelinarecipes in your recreations on social media so I can find them — I love it when you guys report back on recipes that you’ve tried!

I shot the photos for this post at my childhood home in rural Alberta. I’ve been out here on a bit of a ‘workcation’ over the last week — it’s so beautiful and serene in the summer!

SANGRIA OBSESSED? I’VE GOT YOU COVERED!

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Sparkling Pomegranate Cranberry Sangria

Late Harvest Spiced Apple Sangria

Classic Winter Citrus Red Sangria

Thank you to The Calgary Herald for featuring this recipe.

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored, and contains my genuine thoughts and recommendations. JustineCelina uses affiliate and referral links, which allow me to receive a small commission when you make a purchase through one of my links. Your purchases help to support JustineCelina.com!