Last week, we asked Emily Morton, general manager of Deli 126, if she could whip up a cocktail recipe for a front porch or backyard hangout — something to drink at home with the arrival, at last, of warm weather.

Our request happened to coincide with a phone call that Morton got from her parents in Williston.

“Did you know you can get wine in a can?” they asked her. Her parents had discovered it at a convenience store and bought a 12-ounce can to share.



“Yes,” their daughter replied. “I definitely knew.”

(I neglected to tell Morton that wine in a can was news to me, too.)

Morton wanted to share a cocktail recipe that uses ingredients people are likely to have at home. She decided to build the drink around 12 ounces of wine — dry white or rosé, canned or bottled.

Her drink, called Brighter Days Sangria, calls for jam and fruit. I used clementines, frozen raspberries and strawberries. Morton gave a shout-out to rhubarb, which is growing in her garden.

We had no liqueur at our house, so I made a quick run to the packie, where I hit the 2 p.m. rush. I bought a big bottle of Aperol, bright red and sticky. It should last a lifetime.

Brighter Days Sangria is quick and easy to make and lives up to its name.  Our only adaption, in a microwave-less house, was heating the jam in a pan on the stove. I even pulled a pitcher out of my sleeve — OK, down from a high shelf — a development that stunned my daughter.

“We have a pitcher?” she exclaimed.

If you want the pros to mix your drink, you can get a cocktail to go three nights a week at Deli 126. Morton and bar owner Jake Shane serve drinks in vacuum-sealed packages: grown-up juice boxes. Open and pour over ice.

Brighter Days Sangria

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 12-ounce can of dry white or rosé wine, or 12 ounces from a bottle
• 1 heaping tablespoon of berry jam, heated in the microwave until runny
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup liqueur (Aperol, peach, apricot, Grand Marnier, etc.)
• Berries, citrus slices, rhubarb ribbons from your fridge or garden
• 1/4 cup citrus seltzer (more if desired)

Directions

1. Whisk together the jam, lemon juice and liqueur in a pitcher.
2. Add fruits and wine.
3. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes.
4. Add ice and seltzer, and serve!

Source: Emily Morton of Deli 126