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You know what will clear a cold right up?  Mulled wine.  Okay, not really.  That’s an old wives tale.  You also shouldn’t give your crying baby whiskey.  However, mulled wine is pretty glorious for chilly winter get togethers.  It’s especially delightful when sipped fireside with friends.  You might think warm wine sounds ridiculous, but I promise that once you give mulled wine one sip (or two, or three…) you’ll have a new favorite winter cocktail.  It’s also pretty easy to make (and double for bigger parties).

Ingredients:

• 2 large oranges
• 12 whole cloves
• 12 allspice berries
• 12 whole black peppercorns
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 bottles (6 cups) fruity red wine – Might I suggest merlot?
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brandy

Directions:

1. With a fine grater, zest, then juice the oranges. 
2. In a large pot (not aluminum), combine zest, juice, cloves, allspice, peppercorns, cinnamon. 
3. Pour in wine, sugar, and brandy. 
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves, 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to low; simmer until flavors have melded, about 30 minutes (or until it smells more like cider than well, bad). 
6. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve and garnish with cinnamon stick, if you’re fancy.
7. Serve immediately in a mug (a glass will not do- we learned this the hard- and hot- way). 

No need to mull this over any further.

xx,
WhyDid