There are warm weather drinks and there are cold weather drinks, and while certainly you can drink whatever you want whenever you want, there is really a best time and place for everything, including certain types of booze. Take the hot toddy. That really belongs on a cold, verge-of-flu kind of day. The summer equivalent? Sangria.

In Spanish and Portugese, sangria translates to “bloody.” Appetizing? No, but what’s in a name when there’s alcoholic content involved? Sangrias typically are composed of red wine, small pieces of diced fruit (which will get you stumbly if eaten quickly), a sweetener, and a liqueur. Sometimes, white wine will replace red, in which case, it’s called sangria blanca.

There are booze snobs that will claim sangria must be made with Tempranillo wine. They should just shut up. At the end of the day, when you muddy up wine this much with other ingredients, there’s no need to be excessively picky. Like pinot noir? Use that. Like shiraz? Use that. It’s really nothing to get your panties in a twist over. The same goes for the fruits, though it’s always nice to use a variety. As for sweeteners, usually one uses orange juice or honey. For liqueurs, one generally uses brandy or triple sec, though with a sangria blanca I sometimes like using peach schnapps.

For the less adventurous, I’ve included a few recipes, all of which are fantastic for a hot night on the porch, stoop, or roof. Just be careful not to choke on the fruit as you slurp these babies down.

Classic Sangria

1 bottle red wine
1/2 cup brandy
1 cup orange juice
diced fruits to taste

Allow fruits to marinate in brandy and orange juice for two or more hours. Top with red wine, refrigerate, and serve.

Sangria Blanca

1 bottle Sauvignon Blanc or other white wine
1/2 cup peach schnapps
1 cup orange juice
diced fruits to taste

Allow fruits to marinate in brandy and orange juice for two or more hours. Top with red wine, refrigerate, and serve.

Spicy Sangria

1 bottle red wine
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup almond liqueur
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon cinammon
1 tablespoon cloves
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
diced fruits to taste.

Allow fruits to marinate in the final eight ingredient two or more hours. Top with red wine, refrigerate, and serve.