Arrr! It do be Talk Like a Pirate Day and as such the cats are wearing eye-patches and I be swillin’ rum. To prepare this fine cocktail you’ll be needing to first pirate a fine merchant vessel, preferably one with rum, sugar cane and spices.
Ok, it’s nowhere near as cool as the rhyming version, but here is the recipe for Mulled Wine I’ve been tinkering with:
Mulled Wine
8 cups (about 2.5 bottles) red wine (you want something decent, fruity and cheap. Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon is what I’m going to try next)
1 cup of brandy (I use Asbach Uralt)
1/2 cup sugar (this should probably be brown sugar, but I haven’t tried that, yet)
3 cinnamon sticks
8 whole cloves
1 orange (sliced)
1/2 lemon (sliced)
dash of allspice
1/2 tsp or so of freshly ground nutmeg
Pour it all together and try to warm it. This is where I’m still having some difficulty, as you need to get it as hot as possible without boiling the alcohol off (look for white steam). On an electric stove (suckage) it’s a click or so above low. I let all this heat up for about an hour before serving.
It should be noted that this is very tasty, especially on a cold fall evening. See that cup of brandy? It’s why everyone is tipsy.
Recipe #123: Mulled Wine (in verse)
First, my dear madam, you must take
Nine eggs, which carefully you’ll break–
Into a bowl you’ll drop the white,
The yolks into another by it.
Let Betsy beat the whites with switch,
Till they appear quite frothed and rich–
Another hand the yolks must beat
With sugar, which will make them sweet;
Three or four spoonfuls may be’ll do,
Though some, perhaps, would take but two.
Into a skillet next you’ll pour
A bottle of good wine, or more–
Put half a pint of water, too,
Or it may prove too strong for you;
And while the eggs (by two) are beating,
The wine and water may be heating;
But, when it comes to boiling heat,
The yolks and whites together beat
With half a pint of water more–
Mixing them well, then gently pour
Into the skillet with the wine,
And stir it briskly all the time.
Then pour it off into a pitcher;
Grate nutmeg in to make it richer.
Then drink it hot, for he’s a fool,
Who lets such precious liquor cool.
Summer has yet to begin in earnest, and I am already looking forward to winter.