Mulled Wine Recipe with Caramel Vodka
This is your new holiday party trick: mulled wine recipe with caramel vodka. Warm, a little sweet, a little fruity, and exactly the kind of thing people will ask you for the recipe to halfway through the night.
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1.5 litres full-bodied red wine, like California Zinfandel, Grenache, or Merlot.
- 1 cup Caramel-flavored vodka
- 2 TBSP Maple syrup
- 2 oranges, one juiced and one cut into slices
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 4 star anise
- Enough cloves to stud around one of the orange slices, between 10-12 depending on the size.
Instructions
To prepare the spices:
- If using prepackaged mulling spices, secure them in a floating tea infuser or a cheesecloth bag. (You could make your own with large cheesecloth if need be.) This helps infuse your wine without having a bunch of small spices floating around. However, if you’re using cinnamon sticks, whole star anise, and cloves, you can add them directly to the wine, as they’re large enough to avoid when spooning up someone’s drink. (See notes re: cloves.)
To make the mulled wine:
- Transfer the wine to a large stainless steel pot or a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Stir in the caramel vodka, maple syrup, freshly squeezed orange juice, cranberries, and either your spice satchel or the loose cinnamon sticks, star anise, and cloves.
- Warm the wine slowly over medium-high heat. As soon as the wine is warm, bring the temperature down to medium-low. Once you see steam, reduce the heat to the lowest setting or transfer everything to a warmed slow cooker. You don’t want to bring the wine to a simmer. All you want to do is warm it through until it’s just hot enough to steam.
- Mulled wine is best when it’s nice and steamy. Serve it in glassware or coffee mugs.
Notes
You could swap out the cinnamon sticks, star anise, and cloves with 2-4 tablespoons of mulling spices, but be sure to get yourself a tea infuser or cheesecloth satchel to keep the small spices from floating around in the wine.
The best way to include the cloves is to press them into the pith around the orange, so they stay secure and don't float around in the wine. They're not as easy to avoid as the cinnamon sticks and star anise, so you definitely don't want a clove to end up in anyone's glass.
Nutrition
Serving: 8oz | Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Sugar: 3g
