One of my favorite drinks in winter and most definitely Christmas is mulled wine.
This recipe started out as an experiment, and later became a Robson Family Christmas staple. A few things about the recipe first.
The mulling sachet…
Make several, not only will they keep for a long time you can do all kinds of cool things with them once you have made them.
1. Give them as a gift with a bottle of wine and a nifty recipe card.
For several years I would make up a basket with a couple of heat proof glass mugs, an inexpensive bottle of red wine, a sachet, and a few oranges. Looks nice,and it is an inexpensive gift.
2. Put one in a pot with apple juice on the stove on simmer…will make your whole house smell amazing.
Leftovers…
If you have leftovers, just put it into a container in the fridge…you can heat up a cup anytime in the microwave.
So on to the recipe…
Mulled Wine Spice (one sachet)
- 3-4″ cinnamon stick (7-10cm)
- 10 cloves
- 15 allspice berries
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1tsp orange peel or mixed peel (from baking section of supermarket)
Other stuff you can add…
dried sliced ginger (get it from the Asian market)
Nutmeg (coarse ground)
I use those loose leaf silk tea bags that you can get at the Asian market to put all the spices together, but you can use a square of cheese cloth as well.
The brew…
In a crock pot…or on the stove…crock pot works bets because it keeps the temperature more consistent…
Pour in 1 bottle of inexpensive red wine…you choose the type, keep in mind the flavors will change with the spices, so don’t use your best bottle.
Add 1/2 cup sweet red vermouth.
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 sliced orange
1 Spice Sachet
Set the crock pot on low…Now just walk away!
Give it a taste now and then after the first hour…remove the sachet when you have a flavor you like.
Note: If you are doing this on the stove, check it more often…it will take less time to brew. If you find you have too strong a mull, just add a bit more wine…it will smooth out the spices.
Variations…
I have used this mulling spice to make sever different warm drinks…so experiment with flavors and juices. I have tried it with Cranberry juice, apple juice, and Mead. And enjoyed them all.
If you want a “Dryer” mulled wine, use brandy instead of vermouth.
And if you want a non alcoholic version, just use the non alcohol wine from the supermarket. Remove the vermouth, and use extra sugar.
