Mulled Wine with Ternate Cloves, Kandy Cinnamon & Rhun Nutmeg

An ancient festive drink with warm mulling spices, mulled wine’s provenance can be traced back to Ancient Greece where the drink Ypocras or Hippocras was made with exotic spices from the Orient.

Hippocras was made using either red or white wine infused with generous amounts of cloves, cinnamon, ginger, mace, galangal & then sieved using a linen bag called Hippocrates’ sleeve that was invented by the Greek physician, Hippocrates.

The Romans used Saffron, Black Pepper & Bay leaf to make ‘conditum paradoxum’ ~ an initial Roman honey spiced wine before other exotic spices were accessible. After trade routes along the silk route opened up, the use of spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger were more commonly used to mull unpalatable wine and also to benefit from the medicinal value of the spices.

Till today, the practice of heating wine with spices has never fallen out of style.

Known as Glögg in Sweden, Glühwein in Germany, Vin Chaud in France, Vin Brulé in Italy, Vinho Quente in Portugal et all, every country has its own recipe that has been passed down since generations with a little tweak here and there.

There is no specific recipe for mulled wine ~ any kind of wine may be mulled with warm spices like cinnamon, cloves, star anise, nutmeg, cardamom and at times vanilla beans, ginger, fennel may also be added as pleased.

“It is very difficult to give the exact proportions of ingredients like sugar and spice, as what quantity might suit one person would be to another quite distasteful.” Mrs Beeton's Cookery Book, 1861

~ Gather Your Ingredients ~

1 bottle of Red Wine

2 fresh Oranges

2-4 tbsp honey (as desired)

MULLING SPICES:

3 Kandy ‘Heirloom’ Cinnamon quill [Add to cart]

8 Ternate ‘Hand~picked’ Cloves [Add to cart ]

1/4th Rhun ‘Sundried’ Nutmeg [Add to cart ]

1 Vanilla Bean [Add to cart ]

~ Preparation Instructions ~

1. Pour the wine in a sauce pan. Add the mulling spices ~ break the True Cinnamon quills into pieces, grate the nutmeg, split open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Squeeze some fresh oranges. Cut remaining oranges into halves and insert the cloves in it. Add it to the wine.

2. Heat the wine over medium heat for a few minutes. Then reduce to low heat & let it simmer for a few more minutes. Make sure not to allow the mulled wine to come to a boil.

3. Add honey or any other sweetener of preference, gradually, you wouldn’t want the mulled wine to taste like a sweet potpourri. Stir well to dissolve.

4. Strain the mulling spices from the wine and discard the spices and orange slices. Give the mulled wine a taste. Serve warm.