I’ve made boozy spiced hot cider and I’ve made mulled wine and finally was introduced to Glogg at a party a few weeks ago. I heard about a couple of years ago but hadn’t gotten around to making. I decided to make this Scandinavian twist on spiced wine for our own party and found this recipe on NPR, so I decided to give it a shot. I made a double batch, threw it in the crockpot and it was a hit! All gone by the end of the night. I’ll definitely be making it again.
Ingredients
1 c. Aquavit (or brandy or vodka)
2 c. burgundy or pinot noir wine
2 c. port wine
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. white sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
4 whole cloves
6 cardamom pods
1 orange
fresh ginger
blanched almonds
1. Soak 1/2 c. of raisins in 1 c. of aquavit (a Norwegian spirit made with potatoes); Brandy or vodka can be used instead. I grabbed some relatively cheap vodka at the store. Soak for 30 minutes before Step 2.
2. Put a large pot on the stove, over high heat. Add 1 c. of water and sugar to the pot, and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Lower the heat to medium and add your spices – two sticks of cinnamon (each broken in half); four whole cloves; six whole cardamom pods, crushed by hand; a thinly shaved orange peel (I used this type of zester); and one small piece of ginger, peeled and cut in half. I used little cheesecloth bags
that I had on hand and tossed them in). Stir again with wooden spoon. Do not allow the mix to come to a boil from this point on.
4. Add the aquavit-raisin mixture, two cups of burgundy or pinot noir wine and two cups of port wine. At the suggestion of my “wine guy,” I got a a large bottle of affordable red (“affordable” meaning about $12 for a huge bottle), which was about 7 c. of wine. I needed 8 for a double batch, so I added 1 more cup when the first bottle of the night opened. I highly doubt it makes a huge different to have the specific types of wine listed above. I’m sure it’s delicious, but I think everyone at the party last weekend enjoyed it just the same.
5. Sweeten and spice to taste (I just left it as it was).
6. Strain, garnish with raisins and slices of blanched almond — and serve hot off the stove OR you can do what I did. I strained out the raisins (actually craisins — I mistakenly thought I had raisins, but I think these were just fine!) as I poured the mixture into the crockpot. I added the spice bags to the crockpot as well. I think without the spices being in bags, I would have had to pick through the fruit to get rid of the spices AND I liked that I was continuing to spice the Glogg all night.
I put a bowl of the boozy craisins and a bowl of blanched almonds nearby, with a sign telling people to garnish their Glogg with them.
A note from the original recipe: The drink can be made a day ahead and kept covered, on the stove, at room temperature. Just reheat before serving.