Saintly Scandinavian Glogg Mulled Wine Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the port wine over medium heat until just below the simmer point in a large stockpot with a lid. Add bourbon and rum, and bring back to just below simmering. Save the bottles and their caps for storing leftover glogg.
• While the wine and liquors are heating, place the cardamom, cinnamon stick, cloves, and orange peel onto the center of the square of cheesecloth. Gather together the edges of the cheesecloth, and tie with kitchen twine to secure.
• When mixture is very hot but not boiling, carefully light it with a long-handled match. Wearing a heatproof cooking mitt, carefully pour the sugar into the flames, and let the mixture burn for 1 minute. Put the lid on the stockpot to extinguish the flames, and turn off the heat. Let the mixture cool, covered, for about 10 minutes; add the cheesecloth bundle of spices and the raisins and almonds to the warm wine mixture and let it cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.
• Strain the cooled glogg and reserve the raisins and almonds.
• To store, pour strained glogg into the bottles, recap, and keep upright in a cool dark place for up to 1 year. Refrigerate the steeped raisins and almonds in a covered bowl or jar for up to 1 year.
• To serve, pour glogg into a saucepan and warm over low-medium heat until hot but not simmering, about 5 minutes. Ladle 3 ounces of warmed glogg into a small coffee cup or small Swedish-style glogg mug, and garnish each serving with a few reserved raisins and almonds.

Steps:

• Crack the cardamom seed pods open by placing a pod on the counter and laying a butter knife on top of it. With the palm of your hand, press on the knife. It will crack it open so the flavors of the seeds can escape. You can leave the seeds in the pods once they are cracked.
• Pour the red wine and port into a stainless-steel or porcelain kettle. Do not use an aluminum or copper pot since these metals interact with the wine and brandy to impart a metallic taste. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, orange peel, raisins, and almonds. Cover and bring to a simmer.
• Put the sugar in a pan and soak it with half the brandy. Warm over medium-low heat and stir occasionally until it becomes a clear, golden syrup and all the sugar is dissolved. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes until the tiny bubbles become large burbles.
• Add the sugar syrup to the spiced wine mix. Cover and let it simmer over low heat for an hour.
• Strain to remove the spices, almonds, and raisins. You can serve your glögg immediately or bottle it in clean used wine or whiskey bottles. May be "aged" for up to two months.
• To serve glögg, warm it gently in a saucepan over a low flame or crockpot. Serve it in a mug and garnish with a strip of fresh orange peel, twisted over the mug to release the oils.

Steps:

• Combine wines in a large saucepan. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest of citrus fruits. Squeeze fruits and add juice to wine. Tie up lemon peel, orange peel and spices in cheesecloth and add to wine. Add raisins, almonds and sugar.
• Bring wine mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and gently simmer for 15 minutes, or until flavors are well blended and almonds are soft. Skim wine from time to time to remove any foam. Taste glogg and add sugar as necessary.
• Just before serving, add bitters and aquavit or vodka. Ladle glogg into mugs or cups and provide each guest a spoon for eating the raisins and almonds.

Steps:

• In a non-reactive pot combine raisins, sugar, cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks and almonds.
• Cover with water and simmer for 2 hours.
• Turn off burner and add wine.
• Let sit for 1-2 hours.
• Remove raisins and spices, either by straining or with a slotted spoon. Save the raisins to snack on! Just make sure the kids don't get them--they are STRONG!
• To serve, heat in individual mugs in the microwave, adding a shot of vodka if you are really daring!