Thanksgiving Pitcher Drinks

Instead of wine, this juicy sangria is made with hard cider spiked with lemon juice and apple brandy.

This puckery drink is prepared with rum and fresh mint like a classic mojito, but New Orleans chef John Besh makes it holiday-worthy by topping it with a splash of Champagne.

Although Spaniards and Portuguese have been drinking sangria for centuries, the brandy-spiked drink didn’t make an official appearance in the United States until 1964, at the World’s Fair in New York City.

Figa was bar manager Charlie Hodge’s first cocktail on the drink list at Clyde Common, which opened in 2007 in Portland’s retro-minimalist Ace Hotel.

This strong but not overly sweet sangria is nicely spiced with cinnamon, anise and cloves and it has just enough crushed red pepper to give it a tiny kick.

Kerry Simon’s Asian-style sangria combines Sauvignon Blanc with green tea-flavored vodka, but it can be made with plain or citrus vodka as well.

Faced with two half-empty bottles of Zinfandel, F&W Test Kitchen supervisor Marcia Kiesel came up with this warm mulled wine, spiced with fennel seeds and cinnamon.

At Shinsei in Dallas, bartenders stir lychees and sake into their house white sangria, adding an Asian twist to a Spanish classic.