The best has finally come! Now make your own wines and spicy tipples this Christmas at home! Bringing the 4 best wine loaded drinks and a surprise punch for you! Have a jolly christmas!
1. Appleberry mulled wine
SourceWhat you need?
2 x 75cl bottles red wine (such as Merlot; better quality wine makes all the difference)
1l good-quality cloudy apple juice
115g caster sugar
1 long cinnamon stick, snapped in half
2 star anise
3 tbsp orange Curaçao or Cointreau or any favourite cocktail of your choice
a handful or so (about 100g/4oz) frozen mulled fruit or fruits of the forest or Black Forest fruits
3 small red-skinned apples, sliced into rings
How to?
Pour the wine & apple juice into a large saucepan & add sugar, cinnamon stick & star anise. Heat very gently, and stir, until the sugar dissolves. Continue heating gently for another 15 minutes. Just before serving, swirl in the favourite cocktail of your choice, throw in the frozen fruits and add the apple slices.
2. Spiced wine
SourceWhat you need?
100g light muscovado sugar
2 oranges, zest pared, juice squeezed from one, the other cut into chunks
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
little freshly grated nutmeg
1 x 75cl bottle light red wine
1 apple, quartered, cored and thickly sliced
How to?
Boil sugar, orange zest, juice and chunks, cinnamon and nutmeg in a pan with 300 ml water together. Put the vessel on simmer for 10 minutes so that the spices get time to infuse, then add wine and apple slices and bring to a simmer.
3. White mulled wine
SourceWhat you need?
2 bottles cheap-ish white wine, medium-dry is good :)
500 ml bottle light cider
150 ml elderflower cordial
zest 2 lemons (pared into strips using a vegetable peeler)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla pod, split
4-5 tbsp caster sugar
How to?
Put all the ingredients into a pan and heat until steaming but not boiling. Spoon into mugs or glasses to serve, while you keep the rest warm on a low heat.
4. Mulled wine cocktail
SourceWhat you need?
100g/4oz light muscovado sugar
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
150ml water
1 lemon
2 clementines
150ml Cointreau
750ml/ 1¼pint bottle light red wine, such as Beaujolais
Twist of orange zest and a star anise, to serve
How to?
Slowly boil 100g light muscovado sugar in a pan with 1 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves and 150ml water. Stir so that the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 2 mins, and pour into a large jug and leave to cool. Add thinly sliced lemon and 2 clementines to the jug along with 150ml Cointreau and a 750 ml bottle light red wine. Mix well. Cover and keep in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hrs or overnight if you can. Serve chilled or over ice, with orange zest and a star anise.
[Santa’s surprise]
5. Champagne Holiday Punch
SourceWhat you need?
large cubes of ice
4 ounces of brown sugar syrup (made by boiling just sugar and water)
Angostura bitters bottle, alcoholic flavour for food
4 ounces cold Champagne
8 ounces cold club soda
12 ounces genever or any malted spirit
Pineapple slices and star anise pods, for garnish
4 ounces of any spicy wine with orange zest
6 ounces fresh lemon juice
How to?
In a small punch bowl, combine the genever, Créole Shrubb, lemon juice, brown sugar syrup and 10 slices of the bitters and refrigerate to chill for 2 hours. Addin the Champagne and club soda, add ice and garnish with the pineapple and star anise!
