Hot Punches

Glogg, gluhwein, mulled wine, hot punch - they all come down to the same thing: a richly aromatic warm drink best enjoyed on a cold winter's night, in front of the fire, or well wrapped up, strolling through a Christmas street market, while carollers sing in the background.Most of the European nations have their own version of hot punch, and we're looking at three here, plus one that has an American feel to it.
- Don't use your best wine for these recipes: a cheaper one will do.
- But not too cheap! As a rough guide, the cheaper the wine the more sugar it'll need.
- Boiling will cause the alcohol to evaporate so don't boil these punches unless you want to have the flavour without the alcohol.
- If you do want alcohol-free, use blackcurrant juice instead of the wine. And, obviously, don't add vodka, brandy or any other spirit!
For this, you need:
- 1 bottle red wine, full-bodied such as a Cabernet Sauvignon
- 50 g raisins
- 50 g almonds (optional)
- 5 cardamon pods, crushed
- 5 cloves stuck into an orange
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Vodka
- 50 g sugar (or to taste)
You know it's autumn in Germany when the street-markets start selling Glühwein.
To make your own Glühwein, you need:
- 2 bottles full-bodied red wine
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 cups water
- 1 lemon, cut in half and studded with 20 cloves
- 8 cinnamon sticks, broken up
Mulled Cider is a traditional English winter drink and this version gives a special appley edge to the usual recipe.
- 10 English apples, cores removed
- Soft brown sugar
- 100 ml cider
Place apples on a baking sheet and fill the centres with sugar. Pour the cider over the apples and bake for about 40 minutes or until soft and bursting.
While the apples are cooking, prepare the punch.
- 2 pieces of lemon rind
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 6 cloves
- 1 litre dry cider
- ¼l Calvados
- 1½l apple juice
And now, as promised, a hot punch with the American flavour of cranberries.
For Cranberry Tea, you need:
- 8 tea bags
- 4 cups of water
- 2 cups cranberry juice, unsweetened
- 2 cups cider
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 cloves
- 1 orange, sliced