With the weather cooling down, the holidays approaching and our reasons for needing a good drink continuing to increase, it’s time to consider something hot and mulled. Making your own mulled cider or wine is an easy and festive thing to do, so by all means, give that a whirl. But if you’d like to up the ante this year, try incorporating those mulling spices into a cocktail. You can go the hot route or keep things iced, per your preference. You’ll just need some recipes to get started. For that, we enlisted Urban Accents, whose Wine & Cider Mulling Spice is a simple means of adding a little more holiday to your cocktails.
BOOZY POMEGRANATE CIDER
2 cups pomegranate juice
1 cup apple cider
4 tsp mulling spice, in a mulling ball or tea bag
2 shots dark rum or whiskey
In a small saucepan, add all ingredients except booze. Turn the heat to medium and let the mixture come to a simmer. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, until it’s nice and fragrant. Remove mulling bag. Divide between two warm mugs, and add a shot of rum or whiskey to each mug. Serve immediately.
MANDARIN SPICE MULLED WINE
1 bottle red wine
1/4 cup brandy
2 mandarin oranges
3 T brown sugar
2 T mulling spice, in a mulling ball or tea bag
Cut the mandarin oranges in half and squeeze the juice into a small pot, then drop the squeezed halves right in. Add everything else to the pot. Set over medium heat and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. Remove mulling bag and divide between 4-6 mugs.
MULLED CIDER MULE
8 oz mulled cider
8 oz ginger beer
6 oz vodka
1 lime, juiced
Mix in a large vessel, and serve over ice. Serves two.
