Mulling Spice

I had never heard of mulled wine until once upon a time I had a room mate who would start it on the stove and then hours later come back to an almost empty pan. I never understood what she was doing (other than burning a pan and making the house smell atrocious) until years later when I had mulled wine at a Wassail festival in Vermont. I was an instant fan. Wassail is also fantastic.

BUT Mulled cider was a fall staple in our house. Just simmer 4 tablespoons of mulling spices in a half gallon of apple cider for at least 30 minutes and you have a delightful autumn treat. I use disposable tea bags to put the seasoning in and clean up is easy peasy lemon squeezy.

So I am still working on perfecting my mulled wine recipe but so far it is 750ml red wine of choice ( not sweet), a few TBSP of mulling spices (the tea bag trick is good here too), and some oranges slices simmered together for at least 30 minutes. I finish it off with some brandy to taste. It’s actually because of this I recently added orange peel to the mulling spice. I love how it completes the flavor profile.

I have no experience with it personally but for the home brewers this could be a delightful flavor for spiced beer!

OR for all my wood stove heating friends this creates a fantastic aroma. Just place some in water on top of the stove!

A holiday must blended from cinnamon, orange peel, allspice, cloves, and star of anise.