The downtown Austin cantina Isla focused on providing Caribbean flavors in both its food and drink programs since it opened in 2015, but the arrival of a new chef last year means that the restaurant is now all about Peruvian cuisine.
That's extended, partly, to the cocktail menu as well, where Peruvian classics like the pisco sour are now front and center. Another new arrival is the Rosé Sangria, which offers a fresh spin on the Spanish drink by using rosé wine as the base, rather than red or white wine, as well as the Peruvian pisco.
The fruity and floral sangria is just one of the promising additions to Isla's cocktail program, now under the guidance of bar manager Shane Paule. Besides the rosé wine and the pisco, the sangria calls for a lychee liqueur from Giffard — an unexpected ingredient that elevates the sangria to a sipper you'll want all year-round.
“The great thing about lychee is that it is floral, sweet and fruity all in one,” Paule says. “You can have all those flavors in the drink with just one ingredient, and that helps (each one) be more subtle and cohesive.”
Rosé Sangria
1 oz. pisco
1 oz. Gifford Lichi Li Lychee Liqueur
3/4 oz. grapefruit juice
1/4 oz. lemon juice
2 oz. Lago Rosé
1 dash rose water
Shake all ingredients together with ice cubs in a shaker. Strain the mixture over ice into a lowball glass. Top it with soda water.
— Isla Austin
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