MULL IT
OVER
Gløgg, glühwein
,
svařák...
Call it
what you will, virtually every nation
has its own version of mulled wine
A HEADY CONFLUENCE
of sweet fruits and exotic
spices, all wrapped up in an alcoholic hug, nothing
says Christmas more readily than hot, aromatic
spiced wine. What’s fascinating is just how similar
all European versions of the drink are – give or take
a few elements – as you may be able to see from our
venn, or rather ‘vin’, diagram.
Add nutmeg to Spanish
vino caliente
and you’ve
got German
glühwein
. Throw some cardamom and
brandy into that,
et voila
, French
vin chaud
. Danish
gløgg
goes down a novel route with raisins, almonds
and the naughty addition of aquavit, a local spirit.
And, for a serious extra kick, look no further than
Czech
svařák
, which includes a healthy tot of rum.
We’ve chosen three recipes you can make at home
– can there really be anything better to take the
edge off on a cold winter night?
CZECH REPUBLIC
SVAŘÁK
100ml water, 40g sugar, 2 cinnamon sticks,
3 cloves, 1 bottle red wine, 1/2 orange,
1/2 lemon, 200ml dark rum, 3 tbsp honey
Combine water, sugar and the spices in a saucepan
and reduce to a syrup. Add the red wine, fruit and rum,
then simmer gently for 30 minutes, ensuring it doesn’t
boil. Five minutes before the end, add the honey.
Honey
Rum
Oranges
Cloves
Lemon
0 7 8
F E S T I V E G U I D E
