Wholesome North A brand of Ceylon Valley Inc.

Drink · European

Mulled Wine

Kept below a simmer so the wine stays wine. Whole spices, citrus peel, and restraint with the clove.

  • Prep5 min
  • Cook25 min
  • Makes6 glasses

The two mistakes with mulled wine are boiling it, which burns off the alcohol and turns the fruit stewed, and over-clove, which makes it taste like a cough remedy. Keep the pan below a simmer and count the cloves.

Ingredients

  • 1 bottle (750 ml) fruity red wine
  • 2 Ceylon cinnamon quills
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 1 orange, peel in wide strips plus the juice
  • 2 star anise
  • 60 g caster sugar, or to taste
  • 60 ml brandy (optional)

Method

  1. Put the sugar, orange juice and peel into a wide pan with a splash of the wine. Warm gently until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Add the cinnamon quills, cloves and star anise. Let them warm in the syrup for 2 minutes so they begin to open up.
  3. Pour in the rest of the wine. Bring to just below a simmer — you want steam, never bubbles.
  4. Hold it there for 20 minutes. Do not let it boil at any point.
  5. Stir in the brandy if using, then ladle into glasses through a strainer. Fish out a quill for the glass if you like the look.
Tip. Six cloves for a whole bottle. If you want more depth, add another cinnamon quill rather than more cloves — cinnamon deepens, clove dominates.

More in the recipe collection, or read about the spices themselves.

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