While the base ingredients seldom vary, mulled wine is made in many different ways. Christmas connoisseurs, have a go at the one that the Liquid Chef at The Blue Bar, Taj Palace, New Delhi made this Christmas season on a winter afternoon.
Is Christmas complete without mulled wine? Of course, it’s not. Joel Scholtens Lindsay, the Mixologist and Liquid Chef at The Blue Bar, Taj Palace, New Delhi hails from the East coast of Australia where it’s hot and sunny during Christmas. “We drink a lot of wine at Christmas, but not mulled, of course.” However, he makes really good mulled wine and shares a few tips and tricks.
“One of the key ingredients of mulled wine is, of course, the spices. I normally like to use about 15-20 pieces of black peppercorns, just 4-5 cloves since they are quite intense in flavour and I like to be really light on star anise as well — just one or two wings. But one thing that you really need a lot of is nutmeg. I usually grate an entire nutmeg in one bottle of wine,” he says.
The entire process of making mulled wine can take anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes. But when there’s a will, there is a way — so follow this recipe by Joel and enjoy the wine the way it’s meant to be this season, and don’t forget that cinnamon stick for garnishing.
Mulled wine
Ingredients
- 1 bottle of a full-bodied bold red wine
- 1 grated nutmeg
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 cloves
- 2 wings of star anise
- 150 ml orange juice
- Half lemon rind
- Half orange rind
- 6 black peppercorns
- 5 bar spoons of sugar
Glass: Wine glass
Method
- Warm up 1/4th of the red wine on medium heat.
- Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Add the remaining wine and simmer on low heat for about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Pour and serve with a garnish of dried orange, lemon and cinnamon scrolled with a ribbon.
Read more.
Christmas cocktails masterclass: Renaissance by Joel Scholtens Lindsay