Mulled Wine
ClassicRed wine gently warmed with citrus and winter spice.
Warm, fragrant, and softly sweet. Red wine's fruit deepens with heat, brandy adds backbone, and honey rounds it out; clove, cinnamon, star anise, and orange peel do the rest. It tastes like a fire and a fir tree in a glass.
Ingredients
- 4 oz Red Wine
- 0.5 oz Brandy
- 0.5 oz Honey Syrup
- 1 Orange Peel
- 2 Clove
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 1 Star Anise
- Orange wheel · optional garnish
Method
- 1
Combine the red wine, brandy, honey syrup, orange peel, and spices in a saucepan.
- 2
Warm gently over low heat — never let it boil, or the alcohol and aromatics cook off.
- 3
Keep just below a simmer for 10 minutes to let the spices infuse.
- 4
Strain into a warmed wine glass and garnish with an orange wheel.
The Story
Mulled wine goes back to the Romans, who spiced and warmed wine to make it keep and to take the chill off a northern winter. It spread across Europe and became inseparable from Christmas — Glühwein in Germany, glögg in Scandinavia, vin chaud in France. Every version is the same idea: humble wine, transformed by citrus, sugar, and warm spice into the smell of the season.
Recipe card
The whole recipe in one shareable image.
