Skinny Sangria

The modern landscape of cocktails is as dynamic as it gets. It is surprising to think that the very cocktails that revolutionised drinking as recently as the beginning of the 21st century are now in need of reimagination, especially in keeping up with the present craze for holistic living. Bartenders around the globe have started shunning sugar in search of healthier alternatives for the larger population of consumers today to whom calories matter as much as flavours and exquisiteness. Born out of this modern necessity are a range of cocktails that bear the tradition of an age-old favourite concoction without being strenuous on the calorimeter – Skinny Sangria.

Sangria seems to have originated in ancient Greece and Rome. Back in the day, it was called Hippocras, the presumed precursor of both the Sangria and mulled wine. It is assumed that Sangria was equally popular in Roman, Phoenician, and Spanish cultures. With the conquest of the Spanish peninsula by the Islamic Moors in the 8th century CE, mentions of Sangria understandably vanished, only to return with the end of the dynasty in 1492. From the beginning of the 18th century, variations of the traditional Spanish red Sangria began to appear in England and France. Peaches and light-coloured grapes became popular ingredients, creating sparkling Sangria, white Sangria and Zurra. Sangria became a cosmopolitan cauldron of exquisite liquor experimentations following the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City. Ever since then, Sangria has been under constant improvisation and the Skinny Sangria has been one of its ‘fruitful’ achievements.

Recipes for Skinny Sangria are simply never-ending. For instance, the Skinny Matcha Sangria mixes frozen grapes, honeydew melon, chopped apples, sliced limes, fresh mint leaves, fresh basil, matcha powder, sparkling water, white wine, and St Germain liqueur to create a healthy and delectable emerald beverage that is hard to resist on hot summer days. A similar Skinny white Sangria variant can also be made with mango, orange, strawberries, and raspberries. We also have the Rose Sangria that uses rose wine, a recently popularised alcohol, along with an exotic blend of berries that are in tandem with the drink’s pretty pink tinge. Finally, there is the traditional red Skinny Sangria, the first of these new creations, that mixes red wine, frozen berries, lemon juice, orange juice, sparkling water and mint leaves for a naturally sweet refreshment that is sure to make every happy hour all the more enjoyable.