Queue the Christmas music, the fire place (or fake fireplace on Netflix), and a warm cocktail. Drinkmas day 4 brining the warmth of Christmas literally and figuratively with our Mulled Wine cocktail.
I love the whole Holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Years’, my favorite however is Christmas. Legit I’m a freak about it. If I could have a Christmas tree in every room I probably would. I love Christmas lights up all-year-round. Best believe my future house will look like Mrs. Claus herself threw up Christmas in that b****.
It’s our favorite time of year here at WWWW! Not only because Karen and I are freaks about the holidays, but because we get to share Drinkmas with you! Insert your inner little kid screams* What better way to pair my favorite time of year with festive drinks? Drinkmas is ALL about that.
Mulled Wine is a typical holiday drink you’d find in the Christmas markets in Europe– particularly in Germany. The different cups you see in the pictures are actual cups from one of those markets (thanks to my traveling brother). How fun would that be to walk around a Christmas market shopping with a cute warm cup of mulled wine?! *Sign me up! (post-COVID of course).
For those of you asking, what in the heck is Mulled Wine? It’s really just a warmed spiced wine. It’s super simple to make and makes your house smell nice and Christmas-y. Usually made in big batches with bottles of wine, I decided to come up with a more quarantine appropriate version. I know, I know some of you wino’s are turning your back to me for using box wine. Honestly though, for this recipe, you don’t need a fancy bottle of wine. Definitely don’t want to waste a nice bottle by heating it and adding spices.
BOX OR CAN WINE – DON’T KNOCK IT TILL YOU TRY IT.
This wine is actually PERFECT for this recipe, often inexpensive, and the perfect amount for yourself or to share with another person. The box wine I got is actually 3 glasses of wine! Some other brands run anywhere between 2 1/2 – 3 glasses.
Let’s get to simmering, so we can get to sipping 😉
Warm up with nice hot cup of mulled wine, while enjoying some Christmas music, or light jazz. Fill your place with the wonderful aromas of the season. 1 box of red wine (we used this one Provisions Cabernet Sauvignon) 1 Star anise (this can be found in the spice aisle or Asian/ Hispanic aisle) 2 Orange slices & peels 10 Cloves (for this volume of wine) 1 Cinnamon Stick 1.5 oz of Grand Marnier Empty wine into a medium pot over medium heat. Add in a star anise pod. (*Star anise is very powerful, one is enough for a small-medium batch) Add in about two slices of orange and about half an orange of peel. Try not to get the rind as that lends bitter flavors – we don’t want that. Add in your cloves, cinnamon stick and let mixture simmer for 5-10 minutes. After mixture has simmered remove from heat and add in your Grand Marnier. Serve in a heat proof cup and garnish with some orange slices, cloves, cinnamon stick or star anise. Recipe Notes If you don’t want to fish out all the spices, wrap them up in a chees cloth pouch for easy removal.Mulled Wine
Ingredients
Directions
I love warm drinks, especially when it’s cold outside 😉 What’s your favorite warm cocktail? Let us know in the comment below.
As always- please drink responsibly.
Cheers,
TY
