Easily serve a crowd? Check! Make ahead? Check! Seasonal flavors? Check! At your holiday party, warm up guests with Winter-Spiced Pear Sangria and get the party started the minute your revelers remove their coats.
When hosting a handful of people or sizable group, I always like to choose a signature cocktail for the evening. We keep our bar well stocked and always have beer and wine on hand but it sets a festive mood to offer guests something out-of-the-ordinary when they walk in the door.
Sangria is especially party-friendly as it makes a big batch and it tastes best if you make it ahead of time. One less thing to worry about the day of your event!
With the holidays in mind, I created this winter sangria recipe with flavors of the season. Pears are a lovely, mild fruit that work well with warm spices. Diced pears are soaked with white wine and brandy and infused with star anise, cloves, fresh ginger, and cinnamon sticks. A touch of honey adds a little of sweetness.
Pear nectar brings additional pear flavor and tempers the alcohol a bit. If you can find fresh pear nectar with no high fructose corn syrup, I highly recommend it. Canned pear nectar is often artificial tasting and overly sweet. The fresh pear nectar is in a glass jar and usually in the juice aisle of the grocery store.
Before serving, I strain out the fruit with the spices that soaked all night as pears don’t stay so pretty. I prefer to put a fresh slice of pear in the glasses along with a star anise or cinnamon stick for garnish. The sangria-soaked pears that are removed from the overnight soak may not look great but they taste delicious and could be considered a little pre-party snack for the host. It’s a shame to waste them :)
Bubbles have a magical way of making all drinks more celebratory. A splash of prosecco on top before serving is recommended for festive occasions.
Winter-Spiced Pear Sangria
Serves 8-10
15 minutes prep time plus 4-24 hours infusion time
1 bottle of dry white wine (Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc)
1/2 cup brandy
3/4 cup pear nectar
1/4 cup honey
2 inch piece of fresh ginger root, sliced
10 whole cloves
3 star anise pods
3 cinnamon sticks
3 large pears, ripe but still firm
1 bottle of Prosecco to top the cocktail (optional)
Additional star anise or cinnamon sticks for garnish (optional)
Combine the wine, brandy, pear nectar and honey in a large pitcher. Stir until honey dissolves. Cut the ginger root into 1/4 inch slices. (If I wash the peel, I don’t even peel it, a trick Martha Stewart once taught me.) Add cloves, star anise and cinnamon sticks. Wash two of the pears, remove seeds and core and slice them or cut them in chunks. Add the pears to the pitcher.
Cover the pitcher and let it sit for at LEAST 4 hours but preferably overnight.
Before serving, strain the mixture. If you like how the fruit looks, you can put it back into the pitcher for serving. Or, wash and slice your third pear into thin slices and place in glasses along with a star anise pod or a cinnamon stick. I like to include a cube or two of ice as I like this slightly chilled.
Pour the winter-spiced pear sangria into the glasses. Top with a splash of prosecco for an especially festive cocktail!
For entertaining… consider a tray lined with holiday paper and filled with sangria. The cocktails will be ready and waiting for guests. Alternately, this cocktail recipe would work well in a punch bowl at holiday parties. Spices could be ready in the glasses or create a spice garnish bar for guests to pick and choose from.