This post has been sponsored by The Coca-Cola® Company and SheSpeaks (Msg for 21+).
This Black Magic Halloween Sangria Recipe is a fun and SPOOKY Halloween cocktail made with red wine, vodka, raspberry liqueur, apple cider, and fresh fruit topped with bubbly soda. Serve this delicious and easily customizable sangria recipe at your next grown-up Halloween party!
Perfect Halloween Sangria
I have always been a big fan of Halloween. It used to be about the candy; college was for the costumes; and now, as an adult, it’s all about the fancy cocktails (ok, and a little bit about the dry ice).
With Halloween right around the corner, I wanted to make a fun, festive, and most importantly, easy Halloween Sangria Recipe. Made with red wine, vodka, raspberry liqueur, apple cider, and fresh fruit topped with bubbly Sprite® or Coca-Cola®, this blood-red Halloween cocktail takes just a few minutes to mix together.
Keep reading to learn all about how to make this super spooky Halloween Sangria Recipe.
Ingredients in Black Magic Halloween Sangria
The ingredients in this Halloween sangria include:
- Fresh fruit – I added fresh raspberries, blackberries, black grapes, and apple to this beautiful batch of sangria. The combination was delicious. Feel free to get creative and add your favorite fresh fruits including all of the aforementioned, but also oranges, plums, pomegranates, or strawberries.
- Red wine – The best red wine for this recipe is Garnacha (also called Grenache), Pinot Noir, or Rioja (which typically includes Garnacha). Both Garnacha and Rioja come from Spain, so, naturally, they’re my top choice when preparing this classic recipe.
- Garnacha, Pinot Noir, and Rioja all have one thing in common- they’re low-tannin red wines. Tannins, found in the skin, seeds, and stems of the grapes, have a tendency to make wine bitter-tasting (and give horrible headaches to people sensitive to this naturally occurring compound). To make things worse, tannins also taste pretty bad when chilled. To mask this crummy bitter tannin taste, extra (unnecessary) sugars or sweeteners are usually added.
- Low tannin red wines (good for sangria) – Garnacha, Pinot Noir, Rioja, Beaujolais, Tempranillo.
- High tannin red wines (very bad for sangria) – Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Sirah, Montepulciano.
- Vodka – Most sangria recipes come spiked with brandy (which is delicious), but this time around I chose to add vodka! I added plain old vodka that I purchased from Sam’s club, but feel free to get fancy and use one that’s infused or stick with brandy if that sounds better. I also added more vodka than is typically added to many sangria recipes. I did this on purpose. I wanted a strong, delicious base sangria that guests could top with either Sprite® or Coca-Cola®. Trust me, it’s delicious.
- Raspberry liqueur – Sweet and so yummy, raspberry liqueur tastes like candy – in a good way! A little raspberry liqueur and there’s no need to add any additional sugar or syrups.
- Juice – I added a mix of both apple cider and fresh pomegranate juice. Apple cider is somewhat sweeter while pomegranate juice gives a beautiful, natural red color. Feel free to use your favorite juice and in any combination you prefer.
- Sprite® and Coca-Cola® – I don’t know about you guys but I love to top my glass of sangria with something that is bubbly and carbonated. And Sprite® and Coca-Cola® are the perfect complement to this ruby red Black Magic Halloween Sangria. I preferred topping mine with Sprite®, while my husband preferred his with Coca-Cola®. Have fun and pick your favorite!
How to make Halloween Sangria
To make this fantastic Halloween cocktail follow these step-by-step instructions:
- Add the fruit. Add the fruit (blackberries, raspberries, grapes, and apple) to a large pitcher. You may thinly slice the apple or chop it into cubes. For the grapes, you may wish to slice them in half if they are especially large.
- Add the liquids. Add the red wine, vodka, raspberry liqueur, apple cider, and pomegranate juice to the fruit and mix well to combine.
- Chill. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours, time allowing (tip- it’s best to let it chill a little).
- Serve. Fill glasses with ice and fill approximately halfway full with the ‘Black Magic Halloween Sangria’. Top each glass with Sprite® or Coca-Cola® and enjoy!
Hostess Tips and Tricks
- Keep your cans cold. Just before guests arrive add the Coca-Cola® Mini Cans and the Sprite® 12oz cans to a large bucket filled with ice. This will help keep them chilled and refreshing.
- Prepare this Halloween Sangria ahead of time. You may prepare this sangria up to 4 hours in advance. Simply add the ingredients to your pitcher, cover, and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. I do not recommend, however, preparing the night before as the fruit will get too mushy.
- Wait to add the ice, Sprite® or Coca-Cola®. It’s best not to add ice until just before serving. Of course, the same can be said about Sprite® or Coca-Cola® as they are carbonated and will quickly go flat. Instead, serve the ice, Sprite®, and Coca-Cola® separately and allow guests to them as desired. This also guarantees that each glass is delicious and fresh.
- Not sure what to serve with Halloween Sangria? Keep it easy with a Charcuterie board. With everything you need right at Sam’s club (cheese, crackers, dips, cured meats, chocolate, raw veggies), everyone loves a fun charcuterie board with a glass of sangria. You can even keep the Halloween theme going with pumpkin hummus, spider brownie bites, etc.
- Add dry ice for a spooky effect. However, please be careful and read the below tips.
How to use dry ice in cocktails
Dry ice – the secret to fog-filled cauldrons and glasses bubbling with smoke. Super fun, right? Right! But do you know how to safely handle it?
Here’s what you need to know:
- Dry ice is safe to use in cocktails.
- It is not poisonous and it will not alter the taste or flavor in any way.
- However, it is not safe to eat. So it’s best to avoid that. This is actually pretty easy to do since dry ice will sink to the bottom of a glass or pitcher unless something is preventing it from doing so.
- Wait to drink your cocktail or drink until the dry ice completely dissolves and stops smoking. It is not safe to drink if dry ice still floating around in your cocktail.
- You will need – tongs, hammer, screwdriver, and goggles (because, yes, you never know) to chisel small pieces of dry ice from the larger block.
- You only need a small piece of dry ice per cocktail. For larger pitchers or punch bowls you can technically continue to add more and more dry ice since it’s not actually melting into a liquid (and therefore diluting your cocktail), however,
- You run the risk of completely freezing your entire pitcher full of sangria (I know this because it happened to me).
- It leaves a nasty gray film over the top if too much is added.
- To keep the fog effect going, I recommend placing a punch bowl filled with the Halloween sangria inside a larger punch bowl. Add the dry ice to the outside, larger punch bowl.
- Never, ever directly touch dry ice with your hands.
More cocktail recipes,
- Negroni Recipe; How to Make a Negroni Cocktail
- Rosemary Brown Derby (Bourbon and Grapefruit Cocktail)
- Best Sangria Recipe; How to Make Sangria
- Classic Margarita Recipe (How to Make a Margarita)
- Mojito Recipe; How to Make a Mojito
- Spicy Red Wine Hot Chocolate
- Spiced Mulled Wine Recipe
If you try making this Black Magic Halloween Sangria, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
RECIPE CARD
Black Magic Halloween Sangria
Ingredients
- 10 fluid ounces fresh blackberries
- 10 fluid ounces fresh raspberries
- 1 cup black grapes
- 1 apple - cored and chopped
- Sprite or Coca-Cola - for topping (see notes)
- 1 bottle affordable, dry, fruity, red wine - 750ml of Garnacha or Pinot Noir
- 1.5 cups vodka
- ½ cup raspberry liqueur
- 1 cup apple cider
- ½ cup pomegranate juice
Instructions
- Add the fruit. Add the fruit (blackberries, raspberries, grapes, and apple) to a large pitcher. You may thinly slice the apple or chop it into cubes. For the grapes, you may wish to slice them in half if they are especially large.
- Add the liquids. Add the red wine, vodka, raspberry liqueur, apple cider, and pomegranate juice to the fruit and mix well to combine.
- Chill. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours, time allowing.
- Serve. Fill glasses with ice and fill approximately halfway full with the 'Black Magic Halloween Sangria'. Top each glass with Sprite or Coca-Cola and enjoy!
Jessica's Notes
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
Suzanne gagnon rogers says
Iโm going to try this.
Thank you so much for the advise on dry ice!
Daisy says
Canโt wait to try! Do you have the single serving recipe?
Jessica Randhawa says
To scale down the ingredients to an eighth of their original amounts, here are the adjusted measurements:
1.25 fluid ounces fresh blackberries
1.25 fluid ounces fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons black grapes
2 tablespoons chopped apple (about 1/8 of a whole apple)
Sprite or Coca-Cola – for topping (just enough to top off your serving)
3.2 fluid ounces (about 95 ml) of an affordable, dry, fruity red wine (like Garnacha or Pinot Noir)
3 tablespoons vodka
1 tablespoon raspberry liqueur
2 tablespoons apple cider
1 tablespoon pomegranate juice
This scaled-down version should give you a smaller serving suitable for personal enjoyment or a small gathering!
Julia says
I would love to make this for our Halloween party! Can I use frozen berries or should I definitely use fresh? Thank you!
Jessica Randhawa says
Frozen could work ๐
Star says
Hello,
Do you think I could just add sprite directly to mixture?
Jessica Randhawa says
If poured into the mixture in step two, it will lose the little bit of carbonation it still has.
Rachael says
My friend is allergic to raspberries. Can I substitute that?
Jessica Randhawa says
Absolutely! You can substitute with blueberries or any other berries. You may also want to substitute the raspberry liqueur to be safe. ๐
Brittany Howard says
Hi! I want to make this for our Halloween party. I canโt have pomegranate. Is there something else I can substitute with?
Thank you!
Brittany
Jessica Randhawa says
Yes, Brittany, you can substitute the pomegranate juice with cherry juice ๐
Brittany Crosby says
Thank you so much!!
Cece says
Would Cranberry raspberry juice work?
Jessica Randhawa says
If that is the flavor profile you like, than sure ๐
Kim says
Just wondering if you can serve without the soda?
Jessica Randhawa says
Yes you can Kim :), sparkling water or club soda might be a good substitute.
Beth says
Looking to make this for Halloween as well.
How far in advance can you make it? Could I possibly make it the night before?
Jessica Randhawa says
Great question Beth! You can simply do steps 1-3 per the recipe card the night before, and then step 4 right before serving ๐
Brianne says
Hello,
I would like to make this sangria for Halloween. I’m not the biggest fan of Vodka so I was wondering if it is a strong flavor in the sangria? If so, can I replace with a flavored Vodka or if I replace it with Brandy will it change the flavor and would you still top it off with the Sprite or Coke?
Jessica Randhawa says
That is a great question, Brianne! While in general, not all straight unflavored vodkas taste the same in mixed drinks, for this recipe you can’t really taste the vodka ๐
Brandy would work just fine in this as well, as it would compliment the wine. Enjoy!