What is your favorite summer cocktail? Are you a margarita fan, always ready for a taco and a top shelf margarita?  Or are you all about the frosé?

I’m a sangria girl, but I rarely ever have it. It’s a large batch drink if you make it at home, and so many restaurants make shortcut sangrias with cheap mixes and Sprite that I am disinclined to order it on an evening out. Recently, I became curious about what an Amaretto sangria would taste like. Brandy is traditional in sangrias, but I suspected (correctly!) that an almond flavor would complement sangria flavors nicely.

As a note, this sangria is very cherry forward. If you don’t love cherries quite as much as I do, I would recommend a half cup of cherries and a half cup of your favorite berry rather than a full cup of cherries. Also the sugar amount is customizable. I made this with a quarter cup since I don’t love sugary alcohol drinks, but kept the recipe a bit sweeter to appeal to a larger group.

Cherry Amaretto Sangria

Ingredients
1 bottle light bodied red wine (Beaujolais/Gamay or Pinot Noir)
1/3 cup Amaretto
1 cup cherries, pitted
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup sugar 
1 orange sliced, plus extra for garnish
1 cup sparkling water to top (optional)
Directions
Juice your lemon, then stir the sugar into the lemon juice.
Combine all ingredients except orange slices and sparkling water in a pitcher. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
When ready to serve, add the orange slices, ice cubes, and sparkling water. Garnish glasses with orange slices.