christmas · Drinks

Mulled Wine {A cozy, warm holiday drink}

Shannon (rumblytumbly.com)

Mulled Wine {a cozy winter drink}Last year at Christmas, my friend brought over Swedish Glögg.  Have you ever had it? This warm, spiced wine was so cozy and delicious that it stole my holiday loving heart the moment I tasted it.  This was my introduction to warmed wine type things.

Fast forward to this Halloween, I was watching my favorite movie of all time (It’s a Wonderful Life.} You know the scene in the bar where Clarence orders a drink?

Mulled Wine {a cozy, warm, winter drink}

“Mulled wine… heavy on the cinnamon, light on the cloves.”

I had been trying to put together my menu for Halloween when we host a group of about 20 for dinner and then head out trick-or-treating with warm drinks in to-go cups, and I thought “Perfect!” The recipe was super similar to the Glögg, so I decided to try it.

mulled

OMG it was so good.  You can leave the vodka out, as I added it to her recipe, but I find you kind of sort of need it if you’re trick or treating for two hours with eleven kids.

Oh, and it makes your house smell AMAZING.

Recipe adapted from Sweet and Savory by Shinee.

Mulled Wine

yield: 4-6 SERVINGS

Ingredients:

  • 1 orange
  • 10 whole cloves
  • 1 cup (240ml) orange juice
  • ½ cup (100gr) sugar
  • ½ cup cranberries (fresh or frozen), optional
  • 1-2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 bottle (750ml) dry red wine (I used Cabernet Sauvignon, but any full to medium bodied red wine will do.)
  • 2 cups of vodka (optional)

Directions:

  1. Cut the orange in half, and then quarter one half. Push 2-3 cloves into the outer skin of quartered oranges, as pictured above. Peel a few strips of orange peel from the other half of the orange for garnish.
  2. In a large pot, combine orange juice, sugar, cinnamon sticks, orange quarters with cloves and cranberries.
  3. Turn the heat to medium high and slowly heat the mixture, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved.
  4. Once sugar is dissolved completely, bring it to a boil and cook until it thickened and reduced by almost half, about 15-20 minutes.
  5. Reduce the heat to low and pour in wine and vodka.
  6. Simmer until wine is heated through. Don’t boil, or alcohol will evaporate.
  7. You can strain the wine and pour into a slow cooker to keep it warm. Garnish with orange peel and serve warm.

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