Today’s Love: In a Jar post is fitting for Friday and warm summer nights. Yup, we’re making cocktails! I love the idea of making up one signature cocktail to serve at an “adults only” party. It’s something a little more fun a bottle of wine, and less expensive than offering lots of beverage choices for your guests.
I wanted to create two distinctly summer recipes for this post. First up: sangria! Would you believe I’ve never made it before? Turns out it’s super simple. Coupon Project reader Clara took the time to email me her recipe (and a huge thank you to her for putting up with my 21 questions on how to complete it!).
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Pint sized jars
- Citrus fruit (lemons, limes, oranges)
- Red wine
- Fresca (12 oz per pint-sized jar)
If you’re wondering about the wine, I decided to buy a single bottle since I was only going to be making a handful of servings. If you were entertaining a party, I’d go for one of the jugs or boxes. The beauty of this recipe is you do not need to buy any fancy, expensive wine to do it! I picked up the bottle pictured at my Fred Meyer for $4.99 (Rex-Goliath Cabernet Sauvignon in case you’re interested).
Gather and clean your citrus and cut into slices.
Fill each pint-sized jar at least half way with the chopped citrus….
… and pour the red wine over it. My one bottle was enough for two pint-sized jars, and nearly a third.
Now I know some of you out there may not drink, or maybe you’re looking for a kid-friendly version of this recipe. For that? Simple. I used Welch’s Grape juice! On the lids of the cans I was sure to mark “K” for kids and “W” for wine. Don’t mix ‘em up!
Next comes the hardest part. Allowing these babies to marinate 24 hours in your fridge! It’s tough I know, but the wait will be worth it.
The next day, I opened my pint-sized jars and emptied them into a big pitcher. Then, I added about 12 oz (1 can) worth of soda per jar. Reader Clara recommended Fresca, and it sounded good to me – so Fresca it was!
To serve, I simply poured back into the pint-sized jars. I decided to garnish mine with some lime wedges on the rims. Voila!
Both the adult and kid-friendly versions were delicious. I’d say the two pints were enough to yield 4, maybe 5 servings. Plan accordingly.
The second recipe I have for you: mojitos! If you have a garden like me (or hey, if you know anyone who has a garden!) chances are they have mint coming out their ears this time of year. Today’s recipe is adapted from this one at Allrecipes.com. If you’ve been following me, you know that Fred Meyer has sponsored this series, and if you’ve not noticed yet – they sell liquor now. Which means you can also pick up those items you need to make your mojitos or other cocktails!
Here’s what you’ll need per drink:
- pint-sized jar
- 10 fresh mint leaves
- 1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges
- ice cubes (enough to fill a pint-sized jar)
- 1.5 oz rum (I used Bacardi)
- sugar to taste
- 1/2 cup club soda
Now when I tried this recipe in a jar, I started with quart-size. Yeah, that was too big! But I did find it was easier to make the recipe in quart and transfer to a pint. Of course, you could also just make it directly in the pint-sized or another pitcher or glass and then transfer it over.
Start by muddling the mint leaves with one lime wedge. Basically this means you mash the heck out of it with a wooden stick or pestle. Then add a couple more lime wedges and sugar to taste and muddle some more. The original recipe called for 2 tablespoons, but it wasn’t sweet enough to my liking. I would’ve added a touch more next time. After that, fill with ice cubes. For fun, I made a couple special ice cubes the night before by chopping mint and adding a little water. My thinking was to have the mint float on the top and crushed at the bottom. It worked pretty well! After the ice, add the rum and club soda and viola! You’re done.
I added a spring of mint to garnish. How pretty are these?
I have to be honest, I don’t drink a ton of cocktails and I certainly almost never make them. These recipes turned out really delicious and best of all, they were easy to make!
Wondering what to serve with these? Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Sangria: Cuban Flank Steak with Mashed Plantains with Black Beans & Rice or Grilled Portobello Mushrooms (vegetarian)
Mojitos: Carne Asada or Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos (vegetarian)
Cheers! (And do enjoy responsibly. 
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The following items used today were purchased from Fred Meyer: all the jars, citrus fruit, red wine, Fresca, club soda, Bacardi, sugar, and ice cube trays.
Disclosure: Fred Meyer has not compensated me to run this series, but has teamed with me by providing me with store credit to use to purchase and highlight items throughout this series. All opinions expressed are my own. For more information on how this site makes (and does not make) money, there’s no mystery there – just visit my Disclosure Policy.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I love how pretty these look in the jars, and they seem really easy to make. I think my daughter would love the kid friendly version.
You could definitely make a kid-friendly version of the mojitos too! For that, I’d probably use some Knudsen limeade (these jars are on sale this time of year) and obviously omit the rum.
They turned out so pretty! Love it.
Thank you! I really think any drink is that much prettier in a jar!
Variation on a theme – White Sangria! I prefer white wine over red…and my favorite white sangria recipe is similar to what you posted, but thought I’d share for anyone else who prefers whites!
In a pitcher, mix:
– 1 bottle chilled white wine (it can be cheap since you mix it with other stuff – a $3 bottle of Pinot Grigio from Trader Joe’s will suffice! )
– 1 can chilled Fresca
– 1 or 2 oranges, quartered, juice squeezed in, drop the orange in the pitcher
– 1 or 2 limes, quartered, juice squeezed in, drop the lime in the pitcher
– Misc. cut up fruit – strawberries, watermelon and apple are my fave (other berries, melons, etc. are great, too!
Give it a stir & drink (no need to wait 24 hours!
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Thank you Katie!!
Hi! These sound wonderful! I wanted to add something I just made-Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate. This is from the Ball Canning cookbook. It was so easy, and really wonderful!
This makes about 7 one pint jars:
6 cups hulled strawberries
4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used bottled lemon juice)
6 cups sugar
Prepare canner, jars and lids.
In a blender or food processor puree strawberries until smooth.
Put in large saucepan and add lemon juice and sugar. Stir well.
Heat to 190 degrees but do not boil, over medium high heat. Remove from heat and skim off any foam.
Ladle into hot jars leaving 1/4 headspace, Wipe rim, and aatach lid/band.
Place jars in canner, bring to a boil and process for 15 minutes.
We tested a batch the day after it was made and oh my it is yummy!! The directions say to use equal parts concentrate with water, tonic water or ginger ale. We used Sprite and it was too tart! with the 1:1. Used one quart liquid to one pint of concentrate with lots of ice and it was perfect!
Awesome, awesome! Thanks for taking the time to write that all out.
Ooh, I love the mojitos and what a great way to use home grown mint! They would make awesome Christmas gifts!
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We’ve made a few cocktails in a jar before; a pepper infused (home-grown jalapenos, anaheims, etc) tequila for a spicy loving friend, candy corn vodka for my hubby, and recently homemade Kahlua.
It’s so much fun to make different drinks and even more fun to give as gifts!
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