This Fall Harvest Whiskey Sangria combines apple cinnamon infused whiskey with red wine, apple cider and pomegranate juice with plenty of amazing fruit and warm fall spices to create a stunning drink! Easy to please a crowd and whip it up ahead of time for holiday festivities. The sugar content is also reduced by making your own infused simple syrup with allulose to add a subtle spiced sweetness without spiking your blood sugar too much.

Let’s Make It!​

Ingredients:

• For the simple syrup (makes 16 ounces prepared simple syrup):
• 24 ounces water
• use warm fall spices of choice – we used 4 cinnamon sticks, 3 star anise, 5 cardamom pods and 6 whole cloves
• 8 ounces allulose* or sweetener of choice (see notes)
• For the sangria:
• 1 bottle red wine of choice
• 4 – 8* ounces whiskey of choice, to taste (we used 8 ounces) We suggest making your own apple cinnamon infused whiskey (see steps below to make)
• 1/4 cup pomegranate juice (we used Pom Wonderful)
• 1/2 cup apple cider* (see notes)
• 1 tsp cardamom bitters (optional, but recommended)
• 1 tsp orange extract (optional, but recommended)
• Sugar free spiced simple syrup to taste (we used 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 orange, slices into rounds or half rounds
• 1 apple, cut into slices
• 1 cup cranberries
• 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
• cinnamon sticks and star anise for garnish

Recipe Notes:

Making this drink ahead of time: 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 could make this a day or so ahead of your party even.

Fruit Juice and Substitutes: This recipe uses real fruit juice and apple cider, which makes it a bit on the higher end in terms of carbohydrates than some of our other cocktail recipes. Each glass is about 7 net carbs. If we would have had Sparkling Ice Crisp Apple flavor on hand, we would have used it to replace the real apple cider. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any at our nearby grocers, so we went with regular apple cider instead.

If you were to simply replace the real apple cider with Sparkling Ice, the carb count per glass could be reduced to 5 carbs per glass. You could add as much as you wanted (to taste) and it would not affect the carb count. You could even omit the pomegranate juice as well. Sparkling Ice is made with sucralose, so that might not be ideal for your diet. We don’t mind it. To each their own! If you are going to add Sparkling Ice instead of apple cider, make sure to do it just before serving, not before, or it will go completely flat while it sits in the fridge.

Alcohol: We recommend adding whiskey to taste, which will affect the calories. Everyone has a different tolerance. We used 8 ounces in our sangria, and it’s a bit on the strong side. We recommend starting with about 4 ounces, and adjusting to taste.

We also strongly recommend using a flavored/infused whiskey for this to increase the fall flavors. If you don’t have any on hand, that’s okay. Regular whiskey will do. We love Maker’s Mark. We make our apple cinnamon infused whiskey a few days ahead of time. Here’s an Apple Cinnamon Whiskey Sour Recipe that uses our fall infused whiskey. It’s delicious.

We also use a bit of cardamom bitters in this recipe to deepen the flavor. It’s completely optional, but we love what it adds.

Simple Syrup: For this recipe, we also make a spiced simple syrup. This is another element of the drink that sweetens, as well as adds flavor, that should be added to taste. Simple syrup is incredibly easy to make, but if making it sugar free (like we do) than we highly suggest using allulose. You could use whatever sweetener you like, but we find that allulose doesn’t crystalize like other (non sugar) sweeteners do. Just be aware that if you use sweeteners aside from allulose, it may crystalize after a few hours.

Also, sweetness levels of different sweeteners vary. A good general rule of thumb for making simple syrup is 2 parts water to one part sweetener. We will say that allulose is slightly less sweet than regular sugar, so you might want to add a few tablespoons more. As always, sweeten to taste!

Fruit: We don’t add in calorie information for the sliced fruit in the sangria, or from infusing the whiskey. We are not food scientists and we simply don’t know how something like this would be calculated. We feel that it’s probably a pretty negligible amount of carbs added, so we don’t worry about it. 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!

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Tools:

• Nesting Bowls
• Large Glass Bowl or Pitcher
• Chef’s Knife
• Chopping Block
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cups
• Sauce pan

Need supplies for this recipe? We’ve linked our favorites above and right here in our Amazon Store! You don’t pay anything extra if you shop using our link, but we get a small percentage of the sale. 

Here’s How To Make Fall Harvest Whiskey Sangria:​

A few days before, we recommend making your Apple Cinnamon infused whiskey. You can simply add cinnamon sticks and apple slices to a mason jar and cover it with your whiskey of choice, and let it infuse for at least 3-4 days. Strain before use and discard the fruit and cinnamon sticks.

When it’s time to make the sangria, start with your spiced simple syrup. It’s extremely simple to make but it should cool down a bit before handling it, so you will want to start with this step first. In a sauce pan, add your spices and toast until fragrant. Then, add your water and let the spices and the water come to a rolling boil. Allow the spices and the water to boil together for 15 minutes. The reason we do this is to get a very strong spice flavor infused into the water.

After the water turns a nice golden brown, it’s ready. Simply remove and discard the spices, and then add your sweetener until it dissolves. You can stir with a spoon to help it along. You do want the water to be quite hot while adding the sweetener. Set aside for it to cool down. That’s it!

Now, assemble the sangria. In a large bowl, pour in a bottle of wine, whiskey to taste and your juice.

Add in your fruit, and then add in your spiced simple syrup to taste. We ended up using a half a cup of simple syrup.

Allow the mixture to chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving to infuse the fruit. Before serving, you can garnish with cinnamon sticks and star anise to make it extra beautiful!

Serve and enjoy! Feel free to make this a day or so ahead of your get together.

Please let us know if you guys give this recipe a try, and be sure to share with us on Instagram @afullliving so we can share your creations!

Until next time,
Briana & Chamere

Print

Fall Harvest Whiskey Sangria

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

3 d 20 mins

 

This Fall Harvest Whiskey Sangria combines apple cinnamon infused whiskey with red wine, apple cider and pomegranate juice with plenty of amazing fruit and warm fall spices to create a stunning drink! Easy to please a crowd and whip it up ahead of time for holiday festivities. The sugar content is also reduced by making your own infused simple syrup with allulose to add a subtle spiced sweetness without spiking your blood sugar too much.

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Drinks, low sugar, sangria, Thanksgiving

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 223 kcal

Author: Briana

Ingredients

For the infused whiskey:

• 1 whole apple (cut into chunks)
• 4 whole cinnamon sticks
• 16 ounces whiskey of choice (we like Maker's Mark)

For the spiced sugar free simple syrup:

• 24 ounces water
• 4 whole cinnamon sticks
• 5 whole cardamom pods
• 6 whole cloves
• 3 whole star anise
• 8 ounces sweetener of choice (we use allulose)

For the sangria:

• 1 bottle red wine of choice
• 8 ounces apple cinnamon infused whiskey (or less, to taste)
• 1/4 cup pomegranate juice (we use pom wonderful)
• 1/2 cup apple cider or sugar free apple cider (see recipe notes)
• 1 tsp cardamom bitters (optional)
• 1 tsp orange extract (optional)
• 3/4 cup sugar free spiced simple syrup (or to tate_
• 1/2 whole orange, cut into rounds
• 1 whole apple, cut into slices
• 1 cup whole cranberries (for garnish)
• 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
• cinnamon sticks and star anise for garnish

Instructions

Make the apple cinnamon infused whiskey:

1. A few days before, we recommend making your Apple Cinnamon infused whiskey. You can simply add cinnamon sticks and apple slices to a mason jar and cover it with your whiskey of choice, and let it infuse for at least 3-4 days. Strain before use and discard the fruit and cinnamon sticks.

Make the simple syrup:

1. When it’s time to make the sangria, start with your spiced simple syrup. It’s extremely simple to make but it should cool down a bit before handling it, so you will want to start with this step first. In a sauce pan, add your spices and toast until fragrant. Then, add your water and let the spices and the water come to a rolling boil. Allow the spices and the water to boil together for 15 minutes. The reason we do this is to get a very strong spice flavor infused into the water.

2. After the water turns a nice golden brown, it’s ready. Simply remove and discard the spices, and then add your sweetener until it dissolves. You can stir with a spoon to help it along. You do want the water to be quite hot while adding the sweetener. Set aside for it to cool down. That’s it!

For the sangria:

1. Now, assemble the sangria. In a large bowl, pour in a bottle of wine, whiskey to taste and your juice.

2. Add in your fruit, and then add in your spiced simple syrup to taste. We ended up using 3/4 cup of simple syrup.

3. Allow the mixture to chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving to infuse the fruit. Before serving, you can garnish with cinnamon sticks and star anise to make it extra beautiful!

4. Serve and enjoy! Feel free to make this a day or so ahead of your get together.

Recipe Notes

Macros: These macros will vary widely depending on brands you use (see notes below). For the recipe that we created and brands we use, this is our estimate that we created using MyFitnessPal. We cannot guarantee the accuracy and these are provided as a courtesy. Makes 6 servings, 7 net carbs per serving, 223 calories.  

Making this drink ahead of time: 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 could make this a day or so ahead of your party even.

Fruit Juice and Substitutes: This recipe uses real fruit juice and apple cider, which makes it a bit on the higher end in terms of carbohydrates than some of our other cocktail recipes. Each glass is about 7 net carbs. If we would have had Sparkling Ice Crisp Apple flavor on hand, we would have used it to replace the real apple cider. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any at our nearby grocers, so we went with regular apple cider instead.

If you were to simply replace the real apple cider with Sparkling Ice, the carb count per glass could be reduced to 5 carbs per glass. You could add as much as you wanted (to taste) and it would not affect the carb count. You could even omit the pomegranate juice as well. Sparkling Ice is made with sucralose, so that might not be ideal for your diet. We don’t mind it. To each their own! If you are going to add Sparkling Ice instead of apple cider, make sure to do it just before serving, not before, or it will go completely flat while it sits in the fridge.

Alcohol: We recommend adding whiskey to taste, which will affect the calories. Everyone has a different tolerance. We used 8 ounces in our sangria, and it’s a bit on the strong side. We recommend starting with about 4 ounces, and adjusting to taste.

We also strongly recommend using a flavored/infused whiskey for this to increase the fall flavors. If you don’t have any on hand, that’s okay. Regular whiskey will do. We love Maker’s Mark. We make our apple cinnamon infused whiskey a few days ahead of time. Here’s an Apple Cinnamon Whiskey Sour Recipe that uses our fall infused whiskey. It’s delicious.

We also use a bit of cardamom bitters in this recipe to deepen the flavor. It’s completely optional, but we love what it adds.

Simple Syrup: For this recipe, we also make a spiced simple syrup. This is another element of the drink that sweetens, as well as adds flavor, that should be added to taste. Simple syrup is incredibly easy to make, but if making it sugar free (like we do) than we highly suggest using allulose. You could use whatever sweetener you like, but we find that allulose doesn’t crystalize like other (non sugar) sweeteners do. Just be aware that if you use sweeteners aside from allulose, it may crystalize after a few hours.

Also, sweetness levels of different sweeteners vary. A good general rule of thumb for making simple syrup is 2 parts water to one part sweetener. We will say that allulose is slightly less sweet than regular sugar, so you might want to add a few tablespoons more. As always, sweeten to taste!

Fruit: We don’t add in calorie information for the sliced fruit in the sangria, or from infusing the whiskey. We are not food scientists and we simply don’t know how something like this would be calculated. We feel that it’s probably a pretty negligible amount of carbs added, so we don’t worry about it. 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!