Starkglögg

Glögg is a Nordic version of what others might call Mulled Wine or Glühwein, culturally a very important holiday drink. Whenever the family gathers around the holidays, not having some Glögg to heat up would be a major faux pas. A typical nordic household will purchase theirs ready-made either from a grocery store (if below 3.5% ABV) or liquor store if above that. As an expat, I have to make my own. This recipe makes the "stark"(strong) Glögg, around 20% ABV.

Base Ingredients

• One bottle of Vodka. (0,75 litres)
• 7 Tablespoons of whole Cardamom
• 15 Cinnamon Sticks
• ~140 whole Cloves
• 1 piece of diced fresh ginger (roughly two thumbs)
• Optional: peelings from three unwaxed oranges

Preparation

Put the above in a sealed glass jar. Let sit for 24 hours or more. Once ready, strain out all the goopy spicy stuff and put the vodka back in a bottle. This is the base. (It should be pretty much pitch black, and there might be some residues settling in the bottom. This is fine.)

When it's time to drink

• One bottle of wine. (0.75 litres)
• One tablespoon of Vanilla Extract
• 150g Brown Caster Sugar (or amount to taste)

Take one decilitre of the vodka base for each bottle of red wine, add the ingredients above. Heat up gently while stirring and make sure to NOT bring it all the way to a boil. (That is alcohol abuse.)

Pour into a mug or heat-resistant glass and drink. For good Nordic points, add a good helping of raisins and/or almonds that you let soak in the bottom of the mug.

Variants

I have found that this works well with Orhard Thieves (Apple Bandit) Cider replacing the wine, and it also has great results with using Rose wine instead of reds.

For a more beer-like strength, use alcohol free wine.