Gin & Tangerine Sparkler

I broke the rosé bottle.

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I was opening it for girls wine night, mid-prep, hands full, and it just slipped and shattered on the counter. So much for sangria. All I had left was a bottle of orange sparkling wine, which — bonus — is a lot easier to open with wine-covered hands and a room about to fill up with people.

I already had the fruit cut for the sangria: tangerines, strawberries, blackberries, peaches, and limes. So I grabbed the gin instead and just went for it. Same fruit, same citrus, but sharper and more electric without the wine base weighing it down. A splash of sparkling water, and a handful of ice cut through what tasted almost like a concentrate at first, and what was left was something I ended up liking more than the sangria I’d planned.

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Makes 6 servings Active time 15 min Macerate 1 hr+

Thyme simple syrup (make ahead)

• –1 cup granulated sugar
• –1 cup water
• –6–8 sprigs fresh thyme

1. Combine the sugar, water, and thyme sprigs in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then bring to a gentle simmer.
2. Remove from heat and let the thyme steep for 10 minutes.
3. Strain into a clean jar and let cool completely. Keeps refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Ingredients

• –1 cup gin
• –3/4 cup tangerine juice
• –2 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered
• –1 cup blackberries, halved
• –1 peach, sliced into thin wedges
• –2 tangerines, thinly sliced into rounds
• –1 lime, thinly sliced into rounds
• –2 tablespoons thyme simple syrup (optional)
• –2 cups orange sparkling wine, chilled
• –Sparkling water, to taste
• –Ice

Method

1. In a pitcher, combine the gin and tangerine juice.
2. Add the strawberries, blackberries, peach, tangerine rounds, and lime rounds.
3. Stir in the thyme simple syrup, if using, and refrigerate for at least an hour to let the fruit macerate.
4. Right before serving, top with the orange sparkling wine and a splash of sparkling water. Stir gently to keep the bubbles. Serve over ice with plenty of fruit in each glass.

Notes

On balance: If it tastes concentrated or heavy, that’s your cue — more sparkling water, more ice, taste again. This is a drink that wants to be light on your tongue, not one that asks you to work for it.

On the thyme simple syrup: Optional but worth it if you have it — it adds an herbal, slightly floral note that sits quietly behind the citrus and gin. The recipe above makes more than you need for one batch, which is fine. It’s good in sparkling water, iced tea, and most things that want a little something.