Bourbon Whiskey Sangria

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This Fall Bourbon Sangria Recipe is a true autumnal treat. It combines bourbon whiskey with red wine, homemade low carb apple cider and homemade sugar free keto grenadine with plenty of amazing fruit and warm fall spices to create a stunning drink!

two large goblets full of bourbon whiskey sangria

Please note: This recipe has been improved, and re-photographed since we initially posted it in November of 2019. We hope you enjoy the new look!

This fruity, spiced cinnamon whiskey sangria is easy to please a crowd and whip up ahead of time for holiday festivities. The sugar content is greatly reduced by making your own apple cider and grenadine, but you can always opt for store-bought versions if you're not looking to limit sugar.

Looking for more tasty fall cocktails? Try this slow cooker mulled wine, this apple whiskey sour, or this apple cider bourbon cocktail!

🍎Ingredients

Red wine - Choose something not too sweet that you actually want to drink!
Bourbon whiskey - Your favorite variety. Sometimes we even add some homemade apple cinnamon infused whiskey if we have some on hand. If you don't like bourbon, feel free to use your favorite Irish whiskey or anything you like.
Homemade sugar free grenadine - So delicious! You can also use plain pomegranate juice instead, but you may need to add some sweetener to the drink, as the grenadine and apple cider are the main components that add sweetness to the drink.
Homemade low carb apple cider - Our sugar free apple cider is truly delicious and easy to make. and can be made over a week in advance. It's nice and spiced so it adds an incredible flavor profile to the sangria.
Cardamom bitters- Optional, but really subtle and delicious. We recommend it.
Orange - We used two different types of oranges, including blood orange and a navel orange.
Apple - Cut into your desired shape. We used a honey crisp apple.
Cranberries - Fresh or frozen
Whole fall warming spices - We used cinnamon sticks, star anise, cardamom pods and whole cloves. This adds a subtle spiced flavor profile to this drink as it sits.
Garnish with: more fresh fruit and dried spices

📋Instructions

Straining apple cinnamon whiskey sour into glass

In a large pitcher or bowl, add the red wine.

Add in apples, and apple cider.

hand dropping apples into a red wine sangria

pouring apple cider into a large pitcher to make sangria

Followed by cranberries.

pouring cranberries into a large sangria pitcher

flat lay of a large pitcher full of whiskey sangria

Add in bitters if using, and keto grenadine.

cardamom bitter being poured into a large pitcher

Stir in whiskey, but start with about half, then taste and add more if desired.

pouring in whiskey to a red wine whiskey sangria pitcher

Drop in orange pieces and slices.

hand dropping in orange slices to a sangria pitcher

Add in cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom and star anise, then give the mixture a stir. Refrigerate, covered, for a minimum of 2 hours to let the flavors meld together. We recommend letting this sit for 6-8 hours if you can!

flat lay of bourbon whiskey sangria with warming spices and fruit on top of the pitcher

using a wooden spoon to mix a large pitcher of sangria

To serve, pour into glasses and garnish with more fresh fruit and spices. Enjoy!

flat lay shot of bourbon whiskey sangria with fresh fruit on top

Frequently Asked Questions:

How Long Should I Let This Sangria Sit?

We recommend allowing the fruit to sit in your sangria mixture for at least a few hours before serving to help infuse the flavors. You can even let the mixture sit over night. The longer the better, but we do recommend consuming the whole batch within 3 days.

What Can I Substitute for Homemade Apple Cider?

This recipe uses our homemade low carb apple cider, which significantly reduces carb and sugar count if you stack it up to regular sugary versions. You can always use a store bought version however. If watching carbs and sugar, make sure to read the labels to watch out for added sugar.

Low sugar or no sugar added apple juice is also a great idea as well.

Another idea would be to add some orange juice, which you can't go wrong with!

macro shot of bourbon sangria with a round of blood orange on top

Is the Fruit Included in the Nutrition Information?

We don't add in calorie information for the sliced fruit. We're not food scientists and we simply don't know how something like this would be calculated. While we aren't entirely sure, we feel that it's probably a pretty negligible amount of carbs added.

Personally, we so we don't worry about the carbs that the fruit adds. Just be aware that it adds probably a small amount of carbs and calories to your drink that are not included in our nutrition information. You should also add whatever fruit you like, it's really up to you!

close up shot of bourbon whiskey sangria in goblet style glasses

Are There Good Substitutes for Homemade Grenadine?

If you're not watching carbs or sugar, feel free to use store bought grenadine.

You could also just use pure pomegranate juice, which is essentially what real grenadine syrup is! If you add juice only, you may want to add some additional sweetener.

Another option would be cranberry juice, either diet or regular. While it's not quite the same, it's close enough and it adds sweetness to the drink.

Is There Sugar Free Simple Syrup in This Recipe?

No, there isn't! At least, not in this recipe version. We used to include it, but there's no need with some other sugar free sweetening elements we included in this recipe.

If you are altering the recipe and need simple syrup to sweeten it, it's so easy to make.

To make your own simple syrup you will want to combine equal parts sugar and water. We'd recommend about 1 cup sugar to every 1 cup water. Simply heat the water until boiling, then remove from the heat and stir in the sugar until dissolved. That's it!

If making a sugar free version, we'd recommend using allulose in place of regular sugar. It's really tasty and it won't crystallize when refrigerated. You will need 1 and ⅓ cup to replace every 1 cup of sugar in regular simple syrup.

Here's More Seasonal Cocktail Recipes You Will Love:

flat lay shot of two goblet style glasses full of bourbon whiskey sangria

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