Today we are puttin’ up Swedish Glögg, a wine based drink that will take the chill off of even the coldest night of the coldest winter.  It will warm you, and you will sleep well afterwards.  This is a drink that should be shared with friends, family, or people who you just want to warm up with.

This is approximately the recipe that my wife’s grandfather used to make, and this post is in honor of Poppy.  I make it every year and it has in the process become part of my winter tradition.  One of the things about making something like Glögg is that each person ends up making the recipe their own, adding those little touches of their own that make it your recipe.  In that spirit, I will list the ingredients needed to make a basic batch, but not the measurements because frankly I don’t measure the ingredients myself.

The video below demonstrates what you need to get it started and how to heat it the first day.  It is a multiple day process because the ingredients need to sit in the wine for a while after it has been brought up to temperature to let them a chance to really share and merge their flavors.   The ingredients are listed below the video.

Swedish Glögg Recipe (Glogg)

Ingredients by Volume

• Dark Red Wine – 1 gallon.  I prefer a Burgundy
• Port – 1 bottle
• Citric fruit – oranges, lemons cut in wedges
• Sugar
• Prunes
• Raisens
• Almonds, crushed
• Cinnamon sticks
• Cloves
• Cardamom
• Your Secret ingredients or spices

Directions Day 1

• Pour wine into a large pot
• Add Sugar, fruit, spices
• Bring up to hot, but not boiling (About 170 – 180 degrees F – The video shows how to tell when it is the right temperature)
• Let sit at least one day
• Watch this video to see how to do the rest of the recipe

Directions Day 2

• Add Port, bring back up to temperature and let it sit.
• Remove Fruit
• Strain to remove spice material and clarify the Glögg
• (optional) Add fortifying alcohol such as rum, vodka, spiced rum, moonshine, or whatever you like
• You can serve it cold or hot, but I am not sure why anyone would drink it anything but hot.  Same temperature as preparing it, do not boil and about 170 degrees is ideal.

“Hot stuff when drunken hot.” Poppy