The following is a letter I wrote to Nashoba Winery, in Massachussets. Nashoba makes orchard wines, among other things, and we like to visit when we’re up in the Boston area to see our daughter’s family. Our favorite thing from Nashoba is a fortified spiced cranberry wine, called Foggy Bog. Too sweet for me to enjoy on its own, we use it anyplace you might find Chambourd, Grand Marnier, or… well… cranberry juice. (I know, we’re so bad!) But if you like sangria, you may want to consider finding yourself some cranberry brandy, too!
Ok. Letter to Nashoba Winery:
Hi, folks!
I wrote to you sometime back (ok, YEARS ago) when I started making “Foggy Bog Martinis”. A Foggy Bog martini is essentially a cosmopolitan, without that pesky fruit juice. It is: 2 shots vodka, 1 shot Foggy Bog, ½ shot Grand Marnier. Shaken with ice. Fabulous, and makes a regular appearance here in the Smoky Mountains, at least on my back porch. Our eldest lives in Natick and makes regular trips to Nashoba, and occasionally sends me care packages of Foggy Bog.
Enter cocktail sensation #2: the perfect Summer Sangria. Hubby and I were traveling to St Augustine, Florida, and went to lunch at the ubiquitous Columbia restaurant. It’s wonderfully Cuban and a must-do whenever possible. This time, though, instead of ordering a beer with my Cuban sandwich and black bean soup, I spotted the Sangria List. (No kidding: they have a wine list and a whole separate list for sangria.) Never a particular fan of sangria, I almost missed the one called Sangria de Cava. Now, I *am* a fan of bubbly. I don’t care if it’s champagne from France (or California, for that matter) or Spanish cava, or Italian prosecco – I just like the bubbly stuff. So I figured, when in…. Florida… Anyway, we ordered our pitcher.
It was wonderful. Their recipe is online, but in short, it is simple syrup, soda water, oranges, limes, brandy, orange liqueur, and a split of cava.
I went home and tweaked the recipe until I hit on this, the *best* of all sangrias, featuring – naturally – Foggy Bog.
Darned good thing I have six more bottles of the stuff in my ‘cellar’ because it’s going to be a long summer!
Attached for your perusal, my facebook post:
And I thank you for your time, and for a fine product.
Sign me,
“Foggy Bog Fan”
