With all of the Sangria I tried in Barcelona (and yes, I am one of those wacky people who loves the sweetened wine decorated with slices of fruit), it may come as a shock that one of my favorites came out of a can.
This Sangria was ready-made: much in the spirit of Starbucks doubleshot (which, for the record, I can’t stand), the guesswork of ordering a drink that is so varied because of its made-to-order nature was canceled out. This left only the parts of Sangria that I love: the sweetness, the bright red color, the certain alcohol percentage… and made sure that the parts that often make Sangria an unpleasant experience: diluted ice, old fruit, an unexpectedly disproportionate alcohol content, were nowhere to be found.
I’m not saying that this canned Sangria is the best I’ve ever had: that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I can think of an incredible Sangria cava (with white wine) that had strawberries floating in it and tasted like heaven. And I have to say that pouring my own Sangria over a plain glass of ice made me realize how much of my love for Sangria is based entirely upon the fact that traditionally, the drink comes with a free snack floating in the glass. But when it comes to deciding between an unfamiliar and possibly unpleasant version of one of my favorite apéro choices or this mediocre but consistent alternative, I’d definitely grab a can (or two) again in the future.
Canned Pimms and lemonade in the UK is pretty good as well…not QUITE the real thing, but still damn good!