A Mulled Wine variation that is sweet, spicy, warming. This heady mixture is perfect for warming the body and the soul. It’s excellently suited to the holidays, or really any time you need a cup of something warm and cosy. The versatility of the Spiced Honey Wine means you can also have a chilled version of it. One serve for the poolside, one for the fireside.
Ingredients
- 90 ml RED WINE (3 parts)
- 45 ml PRESSED APPLE JUICE (1 1/2 parts)
- 45 ml HONEY SYRUP (1 1/2 parts)
- 15 ml FRESH LEMON JUICE (1/2 part)
- 7.5 ml GINGER JUICE (GINGER SHOT) (1/4 part)
- 3.75 ml VANILLA EXTRACT (or replace with FRESH VANILLA POD) (1/8 part)
What else?
How to make it
- 1 – Measure out the ingredients for the batch into a mixing bowl
- 2 – Use a funnel to add to a sterile and airtight bottle.
- 3 – Store in the fridge until ready to use.
- HOW TO SERVE
- 1 – Warm your batch. There are many ways to do this – Simply measure as much as you need into a pan and warm through, then serve using a ladle. For larger gatherings you can use a soup kettle instead of a pan…if you have one?! One of the easiest ways is essentially a reverse ice-bucket. Remove the lid and place the bottle into a pan of hot water and allow it to heat through. You can then simply pour straight from the bottle and into glasses…just remember you will need a glove or cloth to handle the bottle once hot!
- 2 – Add wheels of fruit and slices of ginger to all glasses.
- 3 – Add chosen brown spirit and 2-3 dashes (to taste) of Angostura bitters to each glass along with the fruit and ginger. If you are offering a selection of spirits to choose from, you might want to let guests do this part themselves.
- 4 – Top off with the hot spiced wine and honey batch. We recommend a ratio of 1 part spirit to 3 parts batch…but the choice is yours.
Watch this
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| Ingredient | 0 | 0 | unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Wine | 0 | 0 | ml |
| Brown Spirit | 0 | 0 | ml |
| Pressed Apple Juice | 0 | 0 | ml |
| Honey Syrup | 0 | 0 | ml |
| Fresh Lemon Juice | 0 | 0 | ml |
| Ginger Syrup (Ginger Shot) | 0 | 0 | ml |
| Vanilla | 0 | 0 | ml |
| Angostura Bitters | 0 | 0 | ml |
Get nerdy with it
RED WINE – Let’s be honest, with all the additions going in here, there’s no point using the finest wine on the shelf. However, as we always say, the better you put in, the better you get out.
We recommend something with a big bold body and some tannins will balance nicely with the sweetness of the honey.
PRESSED APPLE JUICE – Make sure it’s the good cloudy stuff that was simply squashed out of an apple. Not that sweet, thin brown stuff made from concentrate.
HONEY SYRUP – Follow our simple instructions to make. It’s simply equal parts of honey and hot water. Using a syrup and not straight honey simply makes it easier to measure and use. Ensuring all your honey ends up in your drink and not stuck to all your tools and containers.
FRESH LEMON JUICE – Ideally, squeeze it fresh from a lemon, and pass it through a fine strainer to remove seeds and bits of flesh to keep your drinks looking prettier. If you buy lemon juice, as always, make sure it’s simply FRESH juice, not from concentrate, not for cooking. A good guide is, if it’s not in the chilled section, it isn’t fresh lemon juice!
GINGER JUICE/SHOT – If you have a juicer, great, make fresh ginger juice. If you don’t have a juicer or even if you do and don’t want to clean it after making ginger juice, you can happily use a gut health or immunity boosting ginger shot from the chilled cabinet in a store. A delicious and very simple solution.
VANILLA EXTRACT – If you have fresh vanilla and prefer to use it. Split it open, scrape out the seeds and add it, along with the pod casing, to your batch. Work on about 1 pod for 8 -10 servings.
If you’re using extract, then simply measure it out and pour into the batch. Like adding bitters, feel free to add, taste, then decide if you prefer to add a little more or not.
ANGOSTURA BITTERS – The spices in Angostura Bitters bring in that more traditional holiday spice such as clove. As always with bitters, add to your preference, so we recommend not adding to the batch. The recipe will handle and benefit from a good few dashes though
BROWN SPIRIT – This really comes down to personal choice, and you can offer a choice to your guests if you like. The obvious choices are Brandy, Cognac in particular. Rum, something rich and dark rather than light and dry. Whisky, we would simply recommend going for whatever you enjoy drinking.
Why we chose this recipe for you
Every good drinks maker needs a few wine based recipes in their repertoire. Spritzes have become all the rage over the last few years, but that’s not going to cut it on a cold evening, especially if you’re standing outside enjoying fireworks or a bonfire. There’s also the fact that the smell of a ‘mulled wine’ style cocktail filling the air with it’s heady aroma is one of the most joyful, comforting and welcoming sensations alongside freshly baked bread or freshly ground coffee.
Many traditional mulled wines call for lots of clove, cinnamon and anise. Not flavours that appeal to everyone. So, with that in mind, we thought you should have a recipe you can rely on to please everyone, and if not EVERYONE, then at least most!
We’ve removed the powerful flavours like cinnamon and anise, and replaced it with Angostura bitters. Allowing the individual to add as much or as little as they like of the bitter aromatic spice. The base spirit is not included in the batch so it won’t all be cooked off when heating and it also makes the choice an individual one. We have given plenty of guidance with what we think works best.
Finally, you will have noticed that this is a batched recipe. One you can prepare days in advance and keep bottled in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. This makes entertaining just that little bit easier and enjoyable for the host too!
As always, don’t forget to show us what you made by tagging us!
@Candra_Drinks #MakeBetterDrinks #CandraDrinks
