Mulled Wine with Amaretto and Brandy

Why You'll Love this Recipe

• Hot drinks around the holidays  are always a hit.
• It's delicious in the winter on a cold evening!
• This cozy drink is simple to make
• Great for a holiday party or a crowd
• Different spices and sweeteners can create many variations.

Where did Mulled Wine originate?

The basis for modern mulled wine comes from the ancient Romans. However, so much has changed and many cultures have adopted variations of this drink. Especially popular in Europe, mulled wine also stretches to Asia and parts of the Americas. Not only are variations common across country borders, there are many variations in other countries. Mulled wine can easily be adopted to your taste.

What's in this version of Mulled Wine with Amaretto and Brandy?

Besides the obvious base of a bottle of red wine in this festive drink, we add amaretto and brandy. Brandy is quite common to add to mulled wine to make it a bit more boozy, but the amaretto adds a nice and subtle almond flavor in the background to give this mulled wine another level of flavor.

The juice of two oranges is added for some citrus notes and a bit of sweetness. We also add brown sugar, but this can be optional if you want your mulled wine to be a bit less sweet. We feel, though, that the brown sugar isn't overly sweet in this version and complements the deep flavors of the wine.

For the mulling spices, we use cinnamon sticks, star anise, green cardamom pods, allspice berries and whole cloves. We highly recommend trying all these spices listed here in the recipe, but if you can't get your hands on some of these, it won't be the end of the world.

Ingredients

Here is what you need to make this recipe:

For the Mulled Wine:

• Dry Red Wine: Any dry red wine that you like will work here. A whole bottle of wine is used in this recipe. We usually reach for cabernet sauvignon, merlot or zinfandel.
• Amaretto: A little amaretto helps bring a nutty, almond flavor to the party.
• Brandy: Brandy spikes the mulled wine to a nice fortified level and adds a great flavor as well.
• Vanilla: Vanilla bean paste is our favorite to use but regular extract works too. 
• Fresh Orange Juice: Juice from naval oranges bring a bit of citrus and sweet acidity to the mulled wine.
• Cinnamon Sticks: The perfect winter spice for mulled wine.
• Star Anise: This addition works surprisingly well in mulled wine.
• Green Cardamom: This unlikely addition really adds a subtle exotic flavor and aroma for the mulled wine spices.
• Allspice Berries: One of our favorite warm spices, allspice tempers the drink.
• Cloves: Just a small amount of whole cloves brings another warming depth to the recipe.
• Brown Sugar: This is optional as we like it both with and without, but if we had to choose, we'd add it as it doesn't add too much sweetness at all and makes the mulled wine even more drinkable.

For the Winter Sweet Dehydrated Orange Slice Garnish:

• Blood Oranges: Blood oranges are beautiful and delicious.
• Naval Oranges: Standard naval oranges are great for dehydrating as a garnish.
• Sugar: Regular white sugar or coconut sugar work the best for sweetening the orange slices.
• Cinnamon: A touch of cinnamon is a perfect accompaniment to the oranges.
• Ginger: Dried ginger has a distinct flavor and aroma that works perfectly with oranges.
• Salt: A little sea salt helps bring out the flavor

See recipe card below for quantities.

Substitutions

Here are a couple of common substitutions for the ingredients in this recipe:

• Spices: Any number of spices can be used or altered according to your taste. Peppercorns, whole nutmeg and black cardamom are just a few that can be substituted freely.
• Brown Sugar: You can make 1 for 1 substitutions with molasses, white sugar, honey or any sweetener if desired.

How to Make Mulled Wine with Amaretto and Brandy

Once the garnish is made, the mulled wine is quite simple to make. Just peel the very outside of the orange (the zest) and juice them. Everything is added to a pot to warm and then it is served with the garnish! 

For the garnish, we use sweet, dehydrated orange slices, a cinnamon stick, and star anise. But don't worry, you don't need a fancy machine to make beautiful dehydrated orange slices! We love dehydrating oranges for garnishes for cocktails, but nothing beats our twist on these sweetened dried orange slices. This recipe is super easy and all you need is your oven. Even better, they will last around 2 years! We like to make a big batch of these and garnish whatever we want throughout the holiday season. 

Equipment

Here is what you need to make this dish

• Medium pot
• Sheet trays or cookie sheets (to make the orange slice garnish)
• Glass mugs  for serving
• Parchment Paper

Step-by-Step Instructions

Make the Garnish (Optional)

• Preheat the oven to 200°F. Wash and dry the blood oranges and naval oranges, then cut into very thin slices (as thin as possible). Lay them flat on a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
• In a small bowl, mix the spices and sugar and then sprinkle evenly over the orange slices. Dry in the oven at 200°F for 2 ½ to 3 hours. If your orange slices are thick, they will take longer. 
• After removing them from the oven, add more spices and/or sugar, if desired. Store in an airtight bag or container.

Make the Mulled Wine

• Place all ingredients except the oranges into a pot over medium-low heat. Stir the mixture until the brown sugar has mostly dissolved.
• Using a peeler, peel half of one orange. Avoid peeling the pith (the white layer between the outer zest and the fruit) as it is very bitter. Juice the oranges and add the juice to the pot along with the orange peel. Warm the mixture until it just starts to steam, reduce the heat and allow to gently simmer for around 30 mins. 
• Use a ladle to serve, avoiding the spices and peel (or use a small strainer). Garnish with a dehydrated orange, star anise and cinnamon sticks.

Variations

Here are a couple ways to change up this recipe:

• You can omit the brandy and amaretto and use non-alcoholic wine for a version that has no alcohol.
• Although not common, you can use white wine instead of red for a notable difference in the mulled wine!
• Replace the amaretto with Frangelico or orange liqueur for different flavors.

Storage

How to store leftover mulled wine:

• Just put it in an airtight container, let it cool to room temperature, then keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

How to reheat leftover mulled wine:

• Just add it to a pot and reheat on medium-low heat until warm. 

Can you freeze leftover mulled wine?

Although this seems strange, it is possible to do this without much flavor degradation. You can also freeze them in ice cube trays and you have mulled wine ice cubes for drinks!

Troubleshooting

If your orange slice garnishes are not dehydrating they may just be a bit too thick. Have patience and keep them in the oven and eventually they will dehydrate completely.

What to serve with Mulled Wine

Think snacky foods to serve with this warm spiced wine. Charcuterie boards are perfect - with cheeses, cured meats, fruits and nuts. All of these enhance and accompany the mulled wine well.