Arsenic Lace

Natalie

Sunny Side Up Fizz

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Hey Everyone! I’m currently up in the sky en route home from my Disney vacation with mom. I loved Disney so much I’m already planning my next trip back. I meant to write this post while I was away but the long days got to me, and honestly I was snoozing around 9pm every night. It’s safe to say my schedule will be pretty messed up for the next week. Excuse me if I fall asleep while making your drinks.

Recently I partnered with Time Out New York and Herradura Tequila for their “Meet the Bartender” series. I was asked to create a drink based on a place in the NYC area that felt like home to me. I picked an old soda fountain/luncheonette my Grandpa and I use to stop at from time to time. I was inspired by the location but also by the types of food and drink you enjoy at luncheonettes, like breakfast, coffee, milkshakes and egg creams.

I decided that the drink was going to be a fizz, but I wanted to use a whole egg to add more of a creamy texture to the drink. I wanted to incorporate coffee not only because it’s something associated with breakfast and something I enjoy there often but because my Grandfather worked at Maxwell House Coffee, which was located a very short distance from the luncheonette in Hoboken, NJ. I picked the Reposado expression of Herradura because of its notes of vanilla and warm brown spice elements. I knew it would go along with the flavor profile of the drink and add a lot of depth. Cinnamon ties the drink all together, an ingredient that goes so well with coffee, cream, and the flavors of the Reposado. Lastly the drink gets topped off with soda for the fizz element with a dash of cayenne pepper to add some spice.

Sunny Side Up Fizz

1 1/2 oz. Herradura Reposado Tequila

3/4 oz. Coffee Liqueur

1/2 oz. Cinnamon Syrup

1 whole egg

Soda

Cayenne Pepper

Crack egg into the larger side of your tin. In smaller side build tequila, coffee liqueur, and cinnamon. Pour smaller tin into larger tin, close shaker, and dry shake for about 15 seconds. Open tin, add ice, and shake on ice. Strain into serving vessel, top with soda, and dust with cayenne on top.

On Thursday November 3rd from 5-8pm I will be hosting a Happy Hour Event at The Archer in Jersey City, NJ where I will be making the Sunny Side Up Fizz. You can purchase tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tequila-herraduras-meet-the-bartender-happy-hour-series-tickets-28695512049 . After the Happy Hour you can vote for my cocktail online and at the finale event that will be held in NYC on Sunday November 20th from 4-7pm. Tickets available for the finale event here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-the-bartender-finale-event-tickets-28709282236 . Hope to see some of you there and check out the video for the series below!

Don’t forget to vote for me!

Prickly Pear Margarita

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Hello Everyone! Remember when I said I’d have this recipe up by the weekend? I lied, I’m sorry. It was a really crazy weekend and I was exhausted. My mind couldn’t put together complete sentences so I stayed in bed and watched the Investigation Discovery Channel. I am finishing out the work week and then I fly to Florida to visit my mother on Sunday and guess where we are going? DISNEY!!! I haven’t been there since I was six years old and I’m really excited to experience it as an adult. Pastel castles and princesses please! We’re staying at the Polynesian as well so there will be lots of pics taken of that I’m sure. If anyone has any tips or recommendations of must see things please shoot me a message or comment below I’d love to hear from you!

Prickly Pears at the farmers market.

Prickly Pears at the farmers market.

But let’s get down to business. I saw Prickly Pears at the market and I have to embarrassingly admit that I’ve never had a fresh one (and boy was I missing out). I’ve had purees, delicious sodas, and jams but I’ve never actually eaten the fruit until now. They are in season from late summer to early winter (basically September-December). So if you see some, grab some because these are so delicious in drinks and on top of that they add a lovely saturated magenta hue to your cocktails!

I added some pink himalayan salt to the rim of the glass to make the drink a bit more savory.

I added some pink himalayan salt to the rim of the glass to make the drink a bit more savory.

For those of you that like tequila this drink is a seasonal twist on the margarita. Instead of using Cointreau or agave I added cinnamon syrup for a little baking spice touch. I love the combination of cinnamon and grapefruit, which I also added to the drink ontop of traditional lime juice. Happy muddling!

Prickly Pear Margarita

2 oz. Blanco Tequila

1 oz. Grapefruit Juice

1/2 oz. Lime Juice

1/2 oz. Cinnamon Syrup

4 chunks of Prickly Pear

Your choice of salt for the rim (I used pink himalayan)

Add your fruit, citrus, and syrup to tin and muddle. Add tequila and shake on ice. Salt the rim of your serving vessel and strain drink over ice.

Cinnamon Syrup

1:1 Demerara syrup made with cinnamon bark, or cinnamon sticks. Combine sugar and water in pot on stove on low heat until it is incorporated. Add a generous amount of cinnamon bark or sticks, this will vary depending on how much you will be making but if you’re doing 1 cup I’d say about 5-6 sticks or 1/4 c. bark. Let simmer on stove, you should be able to smell the cinnamon cooking, but I suggest making to taste.

The Enzoni Cocktail

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We’re finally celebrating the arrival of fall! Although I am writing this from my bed where I’m currently laid up with a cold. It never fails, I always get sick when the seasons change abruptly. The temperature gets cooler, the nights get darker, there is a brisk breeze blowing, the leaves are falling and changing color. It’s time to cozy up with your favorite jacket and scarf and drink something even cozier. It’s not hot drink weather yet so calm down!

During fall I love drinks with darker flavors with in season fruits, spices, teas, cognac, whiskey and darker aged rums (I always love Rum). I’m so excited about having the blog this fall because I get to explore some interesting and fun drink creation that I wouldn’t normally do at work. I’m in the middle of changing two menus right now (which has been hectic) but once they’re out I will get to share some of those cocktails here with you and post some other stuff that doesnt work for a menu but will certainly work for playing around at home.

I was at the market last week and spotted one bundle of concord grapes and almost jumped for joy. I decided to post the recipe for the Enzoni cocktail which was invented at Milk & Honey here in NYC back in 2003. This cocktail was inspired by the Negroni, but is a citrusy and fruitier version, and is super easy to recreate. The recipe calls for grapes, so you can make this with all different kinds anytime of year, but my favorite is Concord Grapes. When they are in season I just go nuts and this is the only drink I want to make. I also shot this in pretty blue glassware I bought at Brimfield!

Enzoni

1 oz. Gin
1 oz. Campari
3/4 oz. Lemon Juice
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup (1:1)
5 Concord Grapes

Add juice, syrup, and grapes to your tin, muddle, and add the rest of your ingredients. Shake with ice, and strain into a double rocks glass over ice. Garnish with a grape.

Pumpkin Spice Pina Colada

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I know what you’re thinking. ANOTHER Pina Colada variation? But I just can’t help myself! I love tropical cocktails and especially ones that are rich, sweet, and contain coconut cream. Maybe I should just turn this into a Pina Colada Blog. I wanted to do something fun and seasonal, and theres only one thing I love more than Pina Coladas in the summer, and that’s Pumpkin Spice everything in the fall. Plus the weather has been on the hotter side here in NYC still so I wanted to get one more frozen cocktail in before my blender retires for the winter.

Haters gonna hate I guess but stop! There is no possible way you don’t like pumpkin pie. Call me a “basic B” or what have you, I simply do not care. I proudly indulge in lattes, yogurt, almond milk, fro-yo, beer, fudge, oreos, m&ms and anything else you can think of that comes in PS flavor. It is a glorious 2 months a year I get to enjoy all of these delicious things and I take full advantage of it!

This cocktail is super easy to make, right down to the pumpkin puree. The flavor combination of coconut and pumpkin was so good, I may try to bake a pumpkin coconut cheesecake or cream pie. To make the puree simply combine equal parts (I did 11 oz. each because the size of the coconut milk I purchased) unsweetened coconut milk and libby’s pumpkin pie mix in a saucepan over low heat. This will be on the thicker side, so add a half a cup of water and a half a cup of sugar to sweeten a little. When this is well combined add in 1 3/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice (blend of powdered cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cumin, cloves, and allspice). Stir until incorporated. Allow to cool, bottle, and keep refrigerated.

Pumpkin Spice Pina Colada

1 1/2 oz. Spiced Rum
1 oz. Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz. Orange Juice
1 1/2 oz. Pumpkin Coconut Puree

Combine all ingredients in a blender pitcher, add ice, and blend on smoothie setting. Pour into serving vessel and garnish with coconut and some freshly grated nutmeg on top.

My Guide to Brimfield

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September Brimfield is always bittersweet for me. While I’m always excited to go, it also marks the end of summer and flea market season for the year. Last week was my 15th time going to Brimfield over the past several years and it has become a tradition for me. Lots of people are always inquiring about it and showing interest about why I go and the who/what/where, so I decided I should share some tips on the blog and document some of my findings. I mainly went glassware and prop hunting this time around but I’m always looking for something. The easiest thing you can do if you decide you want to go to Brimfield is the following:

  • Make a List

Jot down things you’re on the hunt for. Once you get there you will likely feel very overwhelmed, or you will want to buy everything. Having a list makes you motivated and helps you narrow down items and it keeps you focused on what you came here for. I always make a list and cross off things I find them. The goal is to get to the bottom of the list hopefully, but the flea market is so large it’s impossible to see everything. If you don’t find something you’ve been looking for put it at the top of your list for the next Brimfield or flea! Stay goal oriented and you will succeed at all things in life but especially the hunt at Brimfield!

  • Get an early start

Start early and stay late. I usually try to get there as early as I can. The first day I’m there is usually a little later than I always anticipate because I’m making the drive from NJ to MA and sometimes I hit rush hour traffic in Conneticut. That’s okay, there’s always tomorrow! I try to be there by 8am and do the whole day till about 5pm. I use to go for a full 3-4 days (the flea market is 6 days 3x a year), but now I just go for 2. Honestly, I can’t fit anything else that’s big in my apartment, so now I just go for smalls and to keep my hand in. You can not do this in 1 day or a few hours. You need to be there for multiple days to have a good chance of seeing a lot of it. I’ve gone so many times that now I know what fields I like because vendors for the most part (if they have been doing the flea market a long time) set up in the same spaces for each Brimfield. Take note of what field you are in and booth numbers. There is a map and I suggest using it to have a plan and to mark off vendors. Make friends with the vendors and visit them the next time you come to Brimfield. They will most likely rememeber you and will probably be more willing to make a good deal because you are a repeat customer.

  • Cash is King

Some vendors do accept credit cards now with credit card processing programs like square. If you find a big ticket item that you can not live without this is acceptable. For all other business transactions at any flea market really, cash is the answer. You will get a better deal and are more likely to be able to haggle in price if you’re paying cash. That’s the other thing, always haggle. Nothing is really ever the price listed and this is always negotiable. Sometimes a vendor will list or say a price that is higher than they’re expecting because they are anticipating that you will try to talk them down. You are here to get a deal and so are they! Again I will say play nice with the vendors, they are great, interesting people with a wealth of knownlege in what they are selling. I could talk about glassware all day!

  • Dress Appropriately

The flea market is GIANT and you are going to be out in the sun all day walking around. Wear comfortable shoes like sneakers or clogs and rainboots if need be. The fields are dusty and I do not recommend you wear a pair of shoes you really like or are open because your feet will be dirty and those pair of shoes you love will be gross or ruined. If you are anticipating hot weather, shorts and a t-shirt are fine with closed shoes. If raining, a raincoat with a hood and boots. The flea market will not stop if it rains, the vendors aren’t going anywhere and niether should you! If it’s raining you’ll get more deals because less people will be out. If it’s chilly make sure you bring a sweater. Even when the day is going to be hot (minus July) I feel like when I’m starting early (7-8am) I’m cold walking around until the afternoon when it warms up. If the sun is out make sure you have sunblock! This isn’t a fashion show, this is a race to get the most treausures. I don’t wear makeup either. To each their own, but I’m here to dig, find treasures, and make deals!

Food52 Lawn Party at Brimfield.

Food52 Lawn Party at Brimfield.

  • Bring a Shopping Cart

Yes. Even when you’re like “I’m not going to get a lot of stuff.” you’re going to get a lot of stuff. Your hands will be full, it’s hot, you’re tired, the car is far. Buy one of those shopping carts your grandma use to have to do grocery shopping with, or some sort of wagon. I do bring re-useable totes as well, but those get heavy and you will need to pile them up in something. You can’t go back to the car everytime you buy something especially when you have a plan of what fields you’re going to next. If you’re on a roll don’t break it! Keep going. Everyone has them, you don’t look silly.

  • Stay Hydrated and Eat!

Drinks lots of water and stop for lunch! If you get an early start like me take lunch at 11am. You will beat the crowds and most likely will be able to find a place to sit. If it’s after 12 noon you will not be able to sit and you need to sit, your feet are tired! Get the Pilgrim Sandwich, I mean it. The line might be a little long but that’s for a reason. They are delicious and magical just like Thanksgiving Dinner. The line will go fast, and it will be worth the wait. I usually come back on my last day just to get one for the road. I have been known to bring them back to NYC for people.

  • Always get the Donuts

In the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening when you’re leaving. Get the apple cider donuts from Faddy’s. You will smell them when you walk by and you will regret it if you don’t have 1 or 6. They basically do a pop up donut shop, so they’re mixing and frying right there. The hot donuts get dumped into a bowl of cinnamon sugar. It’s everything you have ever dreamed of. They also are genuises and do a fried donut that they cut in half and spread jelly on. It’s like a jelly sandwich. No dissapointing bites of no jelly, a completely even amount of jelly in every bite. They are good for the soul. I joke to the the owner that Faddy’s is the real reason I come back to Brimfield every year. It’s not the only reason, but I’m sure not lying. They have a donut shop in Conneticut if anyone wants to take a road trip with me this winter just to hold me over till May.

  • Get the APP

Yes. There is an APP for that. There is a map, a search engine to find items from dealers, save/send GPS location, porters, and show schedule/field info. Defintely a game changer and helps navigating the show much easier. Brimfield Flea Finder is the only app developed specifically for the dealers and attendees of the Brimfield Antique Shows. A must have for any iPhone user who shops Brimfield.

  • Stay Local Eat Local

I’ve stayed in them all. Book early because rooms will sell out. I’ve stayed in Southbridge before and it is lovely but I recommend getting a hotel in Sturbridge. It is closer and traffic getting to the flea on Rt. 20 is real. The closer you are and the earlier you get up the better. My favorite places to stay are Sturbridge Host Hotel & Conference Center, Publick House Historic Inn, and The Sturbridge Country Inn. I’ve also stayed in the Days Inn and Econo Lodge in Sturbridge, which are fine choices as well. My favorite place to eat in town is the Kahula restaurant. I have a knack for finding the closest tiki bar to me. They serve Polynesian style food and have a list of tropical drinks. It’s an old school, no frills place but the service and food is good. Come hungry or with a friend because the portions are huge and the drinks are strong! Get the Treausure Hunt, it’s a delicious pina colada variation with cognac in it, we are afterall on a treasure hunt! I also love the Cedar Street Grille, they do classic American food with a new england home style twist. The lobster mac n cheese please! They also always have a nice selection of craft beers, some of them even local like Tree House Brewing Co. or Rapscallion. I’d love to go to a tap room on one of my next trips!

I found a lot of beautiful glassware and props for the studio that I’m excited to share with you here and excited to shoot some cocktails in sometime soon! If anyone has any other questions or comments please feel free to reach out and share. I’d love to update this again when May comes back around. I’d also love to take some photographs of the hotels and restaurants I frequent but there wasn’t enough time for me to do that this time around. I will have to bring my camera and stay an extra day! Happy hunting and I will see you in May. I started the hashtag #brimfieldfinds a number of years back so make sure to use it on your trip!

Pineapple Rosé Popsicles

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Hello everyone and Happy Labor Day Weekend! I decided to make these pops last minute, I’ve been wanting to make boozy popsicles all summer but just never got around to it. TADA! This was my last chance to make it happen and they are quite delicious and will be the biggest hit at your BBQ or party. They are quite easy to prepare and even easier to devour. What’s everyones plans? I worked last night and also tonight, so I’m just going to stay local on Sunday and Monday. I got to sleep at 5am (bartender problems), so this post is going up later than expected. Also, I had a wifi disaster so I’m writing this from a coffee shop, where it also took me like an hour to get connected to their wifi. What the wifi? Hope you’re all enjoying your weekend!

Pineapple Rosé Popsicles

Half a bottle of Rosé (about 1 3/4 cups)
2 tsp. Raspberry Liqueur or Syrup
1/4 Cup Pineapple Juice
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Sugar
About 1 cup fresh fruit. I used strawberries, kiwis, blueberries, and pineapple.

Make simple syrup with your sugar and water. Boil water on the stove or in an electric kettle and add to sugar, stir till all sugar has disolved, let cool. Combine Rosé, Raspberry Liqueur or Syrup, pineapple juice, and simple syrup in pitcher or bowl. Drop fruit into popsicle molds and pour the wine mixture in. Insert popsicle sticks and freeze until solid.

Frozen Caribbean Coffee

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I have another frozen drink for you. I know I do them often, but I have to get them out while I can. Summer is almost over!!! Soon I will be posting about all things pumpkin, cranberry cordials, and lots of things stirred and boozy (or hot) to keep you warm all winter long. Of course with the occasional tiki drink thrown in to transport you to warmer days. If I have any readers (I’m not sure that I do honestly lol) that live in a more moderate climate with less of a season change, don’t worry, I will be jealous of your amazing produce and sunlight when its 12 degrees, dark, and sad here in NYC.

Labor Day weekend is upon us and I’ve whipped up this delicious boozy frozen coffee variation. I was inspired by the Frozen Irish Coffee that I have had many of at the Erin Rose in NOLA. If you’ve never been there it is a MUST if you’re traveling to New Orleans, I usually just take a cab from the airport directly there just for this drink. I mixed up the base spirit to Rum because I’m using Stumptown’s Coconut Cold Brew (so yum) and thought the flavors would compliment eachother more. If you can’t get your hands on this particular Stumptown cold brew, don’t fret. Use your cold brew of choice and then make some coconut cream (equal parts coconut cream and coconut milk) and then mix the cold brew and coconut cream mixture 2:1. This is like an irish coffee meets a milkshake because I also thought it was a good idea to add a scoop of gelato. When is gelato not a good idea, am I right?

So grab your blender and let’s celebrate the last the big weekend of the summer. This drink is so delicious and easy to make, make a pitcher and share it with your friends. Garnish as elaborate and decadent as you please! I went a little crazy for the photo, whipped cream, fudge, coconut shavings, a sprinkle of coffee. It was messy and when I was done taking photos I drank ALL OF IT!

Frozen Caribbean Coffee

1 1/2 oz. Jamaican Rum (I used Appleton Reserve)
1/2 oz. Coffee Liqueur
2 oz. Stumptown’s Coconut Cold Brew
Generous scoop of Gelato (I used Talenti Coffee Chocolate Chip)
1 cup of ice

Add all your ingredients to your blender pitcher, blend on smoothie setting, serve in your preffered drinking vessel, and garnish with coconut shavings and ground coffee. Whipped cream and fudge optional but highly recommended!

Flying Down to Rio

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I developed the Flying Down to Rio cocktail for the Summer menu at Archer Bar, the beverage program I have been running in my neighborhood of Downtown Jersey City, NJ. It’s a variation on a Pina Colada or a Painkiller cocktail, which are both fruity and tropical, perfect for the hot weather. It’s made with Avua Cachaca Amburana which has been matured for at least twenty four months in casks made from amburana, an indigenous wood found only in the forests of Latin America. The resulting spirit offers warm, savory notes of allspice, cinnamon, vanilla and Thai basil, backed by earthy sugarcane, with a hint of toasted almond on the finish.

This drink has defintely been the hit of the summer being one of the top sellers and also garnered a lot of attention over the past few months, (I even made it on a facebook live segment for Refinery29). I was on Avua’s Team USA, representing some of the best bartenders on the U.S. cocktail landscape during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Our job was to try to inspire Americans to drink better, upgrade their cocktail game and embrace Brazils national spirit, and the only cachaca brand from Rio de Janeiro available in the US – Avua Cachaca.

I wanted to pay homage to where the cachaca was from regionally when naming the drink but also keep it playful and fun. I have always been a classic movie fan and what says “escape to paradise” more than a musical with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in it? This drink makes me want to dance the night away! The most important thing about tiki drinks to me is the experience, I want to feel transported, this drink will surely do it. Make 2. The gold leaf flamingo glasses from Love & Victory don’t hurt either. Aren’t they darling? This was the perfect drink to serve in them!

Flying Down to Rio

1 1/2 oz. Avua Cachaca Amburana
1/2 oz. Giffard Banana Liqueur
3/4 oz. Coconut Cream
1 oz. Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz. Orange Juice

Add all ingredients to tin, dry shake, and pour into desired serving vessel, top with crushed ice, and garnish with grated nutmeg, and pineapple leaves. Throw a parasol on there if you have one too!

Check out the Flying Down to Rio’s mention in USA TODAY and on Liquor.com.

Frozen Passionfruit Daiquiri

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Happy National Rum Day everyone! Rum is my favorite spirit category because it is incredibly diverse, both in terms of geography and style. It can be made with relative ease all over the world, which is why Rum styles vary from country to country. It can be unaged and mixable, to oak-matured and suitable for sipping or for high-end cocktails. Rum is made from sugarcane byproducts, such as molasses, or from fresh pressed sugarcane juice, then it is fermented and distilled. In celebration of this holiday I have developed a drink with two of my favorite Rums to mix with, Plantation White Rum and Appleton Estate Reserve Jamaican Rum.

Plantation “3 Stars” Silver Rum is a blend of unaged rum from Barbados and Jamaica, with a three year old rum from Trinidad and a twelve year old rum from Jamaica. The blend is then carbon filtered to maintain its clarity and remove the heavier tannins, while preserving the elegant aromatics and complex flavors developed and refined by aging. The nose has a delicate floral aroma which leads to bright notes of tropical fruit, citrus peel, brown sugar and banana. Flavors of ripe fruit, spice, pepper and fresh herbs appear on the palate and merge with notes of ginger and vanilla on the finish.

Appleton Estate Reserve is the brainchild of Master Blender Joy Spence. The Reserve is a blend of 20 different rums of varying ages, with the youngest rums being 8 years old. Joy crafted the rum to be the ideal transitional rum for the drinker to go from mixing rums to sipping rums. I have been lucky enough to meet and blend Rum with Joy when I took a trip to the distillery back in 2011 after winning the Appleton Estate Rum Remixology Competition.

These two Rums both compliment eachother greatly and work well together in a daiquiri variation. I paired them with lime, passionfruit, honey syrup and Bittermens ‘Elemakule Tiki Bitters (adding flavors of cinnamon and allspice for a hint of tiki). I also made this one frozen with my Blendtec because it’s HOT here in NYC! I find adding a bit more sugar in frozen cocktails really help to balance flavor because of the high dilution rate. After working in a tiki bar blenders become your friend, you just have to understand what water does to drinks and how to properly adjust your proportions.

People also ask me all the time what blender I prefer and after doing side by side testing I can say with 100% certainty that Blendtec is the best blender on the market. It really can do anything (soups, ice cream, smoothies, juice) but the consistency of drinks is what really won me over. Blendtec blades spin at 300 mph virtually pulvarizing anything. No chunks of ice floating in my drinks! Of course when I bought mine it only came in black and red, now they have a baby blue one. Poll: Should I buy a new one?

Frozen Passionfruit Daiquiri

1 oz. Plantation White Rum
1 oz. Appleton Estate Jamaican Rum
3/4 oz. Lime Juice
1/2 oz. Honey Syrup
1/2 oz. Passionfruit Syrup (equal parts passionfruit puree & cane sugar)
2-3 dashes Bittermens ‘Elemakule Tiki Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a blender pitcher, add ice, and blend on smoothie setting. Serve in preferred glass, I used coupes, but a hurricane, highball, or tiki mug work as well. Garnish with a lime wheel and orchid flower.

Summer Peach and Plum Sangria

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Sangria is probably one of the easiest batched cocktails around. It can easily be tweaked to be seasonally appropriate depending on what time of year it is, and it can be convenient to make for as few or as many people as you like. Besides, if you make too much whats the harm? The longer is sits and soaks in fruit the better it gets.

Sangria is a beverage common is Spain and Portugal. It normally consists of red wine, chopped up fruit, a type of sweetener, and a small amount of brandy. It can be steeped while being chilled for a few minutes or up to a few days. The beverage is thousands of years old but wasn’t widely popular in the United States until it was showcased at the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York. This is despite Sangria being a common beverage in the United Kingdom, where it was known as Claret Cup Punch. 

I saw peaches and plums at the farmers market last week and immediately thought of how tasty they might be soaked in wine and drank on a lovely hot afternoon, icy cold, accompanied by brandy, and some soda bubbles. This is a super simple recipe, something you can easily recreate at home with very little fuss. I made my version with a Cabernet from the Napa Valley, it was a touch fruitier with slight notes of vanilla and pepper. If you’d like to use something a little drier perhaps a Spanish red like Garnacha or Tempranillo would work better for you.

Summer Peach and Plum Sangria

1 750-ml bottle red wine of your choice
1 cup peach nectar or peach juice
1/4 cup Brandy (I used Pierre Ferrand Cognac)
3 peaches, sliced
3 plums, sliced
1 cup cold seltzer

In a pitcher combine wine, peach nectar, and brandy and stir together until incorporated. Add fruit, let soak, top it off with seltzer and serve. Smile.