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The ultimate punch

Photo: V.Sudershan

Give me red! Jitender, the bartender at Shangri-La hotel’s Island Bar, brewing Sangria

Do you know any happy-go-lucky sort free from the frills of everyday living? Someone who doesn’t tolerate ‘Ms. Daily Stress’, and wonder why you have her as your pesky flatmate?

Well, if you can spot such a ‘free soul’, do invite him home to toast the way he treats life. And in case you give him a glass of wine, punched with brandy and fruit pieces, brewed overnight, don’t be surprised if he regales you with an impromptu bout of flamenco in high heels!

No, don’t mistake it for your guest’s signature style of thanking you. But do blame the drink for that extra effect. The concoction that you served him is known worldwide as Sangria, shot with the power of not only making the happy-go-lucky ones happier, but a potion that can even make the restrained ones see the seams of their suits loosening.

As a college-goer in the early ’90s, I discovered Sangria by accident. Wikipedia was nothing more than a gleam in the eyes of its creator then. Also, I never travelled to Europe and so Sangria was out of my radar. It happened when once, running out of ideas for a party punch, we had a brain wave and mixed two bottles of red wine with a quarter bottle of brandy. While a fellow sinner smuggled the brandy from his father’s collection, the wine bottles came from a friend’s uncle just back from Europe.

At the party, the generous uncle suggested that we put into the punch some fruits cut into bits. He called the brew Sangria, very popular in Spain and Italy. Many Spaniards mix peaches into it and call it Zurra, he said.

Years later, I tried it at Flavours restaurant in New Delhi. Over sips of it, I soared in old memories.

Sangria, often identified with Spain and Portugal, is drunk with equal fervour in Italy, Mexico and the West Indies (it’s called Sangaree there).You would find bottled Sangria in many countries now. Often served in pitchers, it is today a familiar feature in pubs and restaurants across the world. While some drink it as a summer brew, it can be sipped warm too.

The watering hole I go to for blending this punch is Island Bar at The Shangri-La hotel. It doesn’t have Sangria on its menu but the bartender, Jitender is game to brew it if you order in advance. Jitender first drops about two teaspoons each of finely chopped apples and oranges into a wine glass and pours in 125 ml Shiraz, 30 ml brandy and some soda. And the drink is ready to be put into a refrigerator for about six to eight hours to get the fruity feel. He charges Rs.650 plus taxes for it.

Yet another version of Sangria from him would be 30 ml tequila and 50 ml Cointreau poured into the red wine.

Though Sangria is also made of white wine (called Sangria Blanca), Jitender is not keen on deviating from the red wine base. “Then it would be a wine Spritzer,” he says.

Well, the idea is not to get into a term war but to let down one’s hair with the ultimate king of punch. And I bet you too would find it your perfect Flamenco partner.

(The author is learning a thing or two about cocktails and taking the reader along.)

sangeetab@thehindu.co.in

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