Thirsty Thursday: Mulled Wine!

HELLO!  Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  Was Santa good to you?  Here’s hoping your kids didn’t get The Toys That Make The Noise or have 125 pieces (like the kitchen food play set we gave my niece, because we’re evil like that.  No worries…they’ll get us back when we have kids, I’m sure.)

Today’s Thirsty Thursday is directly correlated to Christmas gifts, as this WAS a gift from my friend Babsy. 

Babs made her own blend of mulling spices and sent them our way attached to a lovely bottle of Missouri wine. 

Now, every mulled wine I’ve ever had prior to this was made with red wine, but Babs recently got to try it with white & was impressed, and I have to say I agree with her.  Granted—spiced red wine is delicious, but the white version is a bit lighter, and makes a wonderful alternative to apple cider.  I definitely like it better than spiked cider, and my hubs who is usually not a wine fan agrees.

Plus, this is super simple.  You can either buy some mulling spices already mixed, or make your own.  You just need some whole cloves, allspice, dried orange peel, and cinnamon sticks.  Many grocers now have bulk spice bins so you can get your ingredients on the cheap, along with the little unbleached bags they go in.

A peek inside the bag.

Ingredients (makes 4 servings):

1 bottle wine

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup apple juice (we didn’t have any on hand, but I had some Keurig apple cider and used 1/2 cup of that instead)

1 mulling spice sachet

Directions:

Add wine, sugar, and apple juice to a large pot & stir until dissolved.  Then add the spice sachet and heat over medium-low for about 15 minutes.

When you’re done making this batch, do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT throw away the sachet.  It can be reused about 6 times before it loses it’s flavors.  So let it drain over the pot for a bit, then store it in a Ziploc bag in the freezer until next time.

Serve warm with a cinnamon stick for garnish. Enjoy!!!

Have a safe & happy New Year’s Eve—and remember, if you’re going to be tipping back the champagne, get a sober chauffeur!