Winter Drinks, Part 1

Warm wishes for a cozy yuletide! The gals are back with some suggestions on cozy winter drinks to enjoy this holiday season.

SHOUTOUTS:

Dr L Riesling
Untitled Art & Cerebral Brewing Collaboration Chocolate Macaroon Imperial Stout 

WINTER BEER:
Samuel Smith's - Christmas Ale
Prairie Artisan Ales - Christmas Bomb
Epic Brewing - Son of a Baptist

WINTER WINE:
Mulled wine (see recipe below)
Purple Moon Merlot - Trader Joe's
Bogle Merlot

WINTER COCKTAILS:
Hot whiskey
Tom & Jerry 

MULLED WINE RECIPE:
Ingredients: 

1 bottle merlot wine (Note: Zinfandel or a fruity red blend will also work, but will produce a slightly bolder flavor. The amount of brandy & sweetener listed below may need to be adjusted in that case.)
1 tbsp brandy, optional
1 tbsp dried mulling spice blend
8 tsp (or approx.2.5 tbsp) honey or bee-free honey substitute + more if needed
4 tsp brown sugar + more if needed

Directions: 

1) In a large saucepan or crockpot, combine wine, brandy (if desired) and mulling spice. Simmer over low heat, covered, until warmed. We recommend simmering the wine and spice mixture for at least 15 minutes to allow flavor to develop. (Note: It's important to leave the pot covered while heating or the wine will evaporate.) Alternately, you can simmer the wine and spice mixture until it's just heated, then allow it to cool & store it, tightly covered, in the refrigerator overnight. This will produce a significantly more spiced flavor, and additional sweetener may need to be added in step 3.

2) If the wine mixture was stored overnight, reheat over low. Then stir in 8 tsp honey/honey substitute and 4 tsp brown sugar. Taste to check flavor.

3) If additional sweetness is needed, add an additional 2 tsp honey/honey substitute + 1 tsp brown sugar, and taste again. Continue to add honey/honey substitute and brown sugar at the same ratio (2 tsp honey + 1 tsp brown sugar) until desired sweetness is reached.

4) Remove from heat. Skim out mulling spices using a slotted spoon, or pour mixture through a strainer into another container. Note: If you leave the mulling spices in the wine mixture, they will continue to steep and may result in a bitter flavor.

5) Serve warm. Mulled wine is typically served ladled from the pot, but we think it's less messy to pour it from a thermos or other similar container. Enjoy!