national rifle cup

1 bottle Claret (6 oz Porta dos Cavaleiros Dão 2007)
1/2 peel of Lemon Cut Thin (1/8th)
a few slices Lemon
1 wineglass Brandy (1/2 oz Pedro Domecq Fundador Solera Reserva)
1 wineglass Curaçao (1/2 oz Senior Curaçao)
1 tbsp Sugar (1 tsp)
a few sprigs Borage or rind of a small Cucumber (sadly, omitted)
Ice
1 syphon bottle Lemonade (6 oz Rieme Pink Grapefruit Sparkling Limonade)

Mix up all ingredients save for the ice and sparkling lemonade. The recipe does not mention any steeping, but I let it sit for an hour to acquire flavors from the lemon peel and slices (as well as the borage/cucumber had I added them). Add ice and lemonade before serving.

The other drink we had on Tuesday was from the 1871 Gentleman's Table Guide, namely the National Rifle Cup. I was curious about the drink for it appeared like a British version of Sangria. I later regretted not holding off on making this recipe until I had a cucumber peel especially when I remembered how much flavor it donated to the Tea Julep. But alas, I was more focused on finishing off this bottle of wine.
The National Rifle Cup did have a rather Sangria-like aroma. A combination of citrus and carbonation greeted my tongue on the sip with the sweetened wine flavors dominating on the swallow. I was impressed at how well the sparkling pink grapefruit limonade complemented the red wine, and it along with the Curaçao and sugar helped to soften the wine's tannic bite. Finally, Andrea commented that she was surprised at how girly of a drink this seemed like given the National Rifle Cup as its name.