Adventurous drinkers and prominent TikTokers are finding creative things to mix with it. and , two TikTok users unafraid to taste test bold new flavors, both recently posted in favor of combining red wine with sweetened condensed milk. After trying it myself, I concur.
It's reminiscent of that longtime boozy summer staple, , but with a creamy twist. This is a drink that would not be out of place among the mimosas and bloody marys at a brunch table. While this may sound like a strange new experiment, this drink has roots in Brazilian culture.
Red wine and sweetened condensed milk are two of the ingredients in a Brazilian cocktail known as an Espanhola, which adds blended pineapple to the mix. However, the simple red wine and sweetened condensed milk combo, sans pineapple, is what gained viral fame. After I taste-tested that combo, I also mixed in pineapple juice to get an idea of the original flavor of the Espanhola.
Taste testing the viral red wine-sweetened condensed milk cocktail Since the condensed milk will provide plenty of sweetness on its own, Espanhola recipes recommend using a dry red wine, as it has a very low level of sugar left over after fermentation. Common dry red wines include merlot, pinot noir, and cabernet sauvignon, which is what I used. Dry red wine can be bitter, so it stood to reason that the sweet milk addition would cut that.
Like the TikTokers, my recipe went on vibes. First, I filled a third of a standard wine glass with cabernet. Then, I spooned in.
