We’re feeling trendy, Boozers. You can hardly walk down the street these days without tripping over a pile of chia seeds, and we had no idea they had a purpose other than to provide a living sculpture to grace an otherwise boring desk. Apparently these little wonders impart good health, and we love a healthy cocktail, as it allows us to feel good even as we are behaving badly.
You often find chia seeds made into a juice with fresh fruits, which led us to think that they’d work perfectly in wine – our favorite kind of juice. Our Chia Sangria is a lovely pitcher of summer goodness, chock full of fresh berries, cheap wine, and maybe a smidge of rum. Oh, and chia seeds, because this is actually a health drink. Drink up.
Chia Sangria
Because we are always looking for a way to camouflage a cocktail as healthy, thereby reducing our own guilt, we sometimes employ the use of the lowly ice cube. For today’s Tipple, we made cubes of lemon juice and sparkling mineral water, thereby adding both vitamins and minerals to our Chia Sangria. Because every little bit helps.
1 bottle red wine (we used an $8.99 bottle of Spanish Monastrell with a lot of tannins)
1/2 cup rum (we used Gosling’s Black Seal 151 proof)
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
1 fresh orange
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, quartered
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh blackberries
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup lavender honey
1/8 cup whole chia seeds
A few fresh basil leaves
Put berries, rum, and Grand Marnier in bottom of pitcher and let macerate at room temperature for an hour or two. Cut orange in half and squeeze juice in pitcher, then throw the orange in as well. Add honey, chia seeds, and wine and stir well. Add basil leaves, cover, and place in refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Serve in large glasses with lemon-mineral water cubes. It’s also tasty when topped with an ounce of chilled Lambrusco, for a little fizzy red wine kick.
Good Booze 
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