In the past couple of years, I've really started to enjoy cider a bit more. In all fairness, I live close to a rustic cider farm, complete with homemade sign displayed on the roadside. In Summer I've had a number of refreshing pints from there, but honestly I prefer Winter cider - spiced and mulled. And at home, the more ingredients I throw in, the better it seems to taste... so here's a rough outline of my "everything but the kitchen sink" mulled cider for you to play with.
Ingredients
For 8-10 servings
- 2l still, cloudy apple cider (Westons is a good option - see tips below)
- 75g brown sugar
- 200ml hot water
- 8 tbsp liqueurs**
- 4 drops Angostura/Orange bitters
- 1tsp vanilla essence
- 3 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 orange, zested and sliced
- 5 cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 tsp allspice berries
** My cabinet has a good few fruit liqueurs in it, so I like to mix up what I put in. Generally, I would advise:
- 3 tbsp Apple brandy (Calvados if possible - not too sweet)
- 5 tbsp miscellaneous fruit and nut liqueurs (Cherry Brandy, Chambord, Cassis, Disaronno, Burländer have all gone into mine before)
Equipment
- One large Pot
- Ladle
- Small saucer for (regular) tasting
- Chopping board, knife and peeler
- Measuring jug
- Strainer
- Toddy glasses or mugs
Recipe
- Dissolve the brown sugar into 200ml hot water.
- Pour Cider, liqueurs, bitters, vanilla and around half the sugar-water mixture into the pot over a medium-low heat.
- While the alcohol is warming, prep fruit and add to the mixture.
- Add cloves, cinnamon sticks and allspice berries.
- Leave on the heat for 40-60 mins, making sure it doesn't boil. Taste regularly, adding sugar mixture if still too acidic and/or around 125ml apple juice if you want a sweeter apple flavour.
- Use a small strainer when serving so that no-one ends up choking on cloves etc., and enjoy hot. Careful when you sip!
Tips
Which Cider should I choose?
Is it nice enough to drink by itself?
Mulling may be known to save a slightly dodgy wine, but if you don't like the cider before mulling it, chances are you won't like it after. Dressing up with spices and fruit can only do so much, after all.
How sweet is your cider?
If you're loyal to your sweet ciders, bear their sweetness in mind when adding sugar to your mulled version. The recipe's written for a medium-dry cider, and even then I often add sugar slowly following taste tests - so careful not to oversweeten!
Fruits
The key to a good mull is, in my opinion, an array of fruity flavours. We can get some of these from liqueurs - Chambord's black raspberry, cherry brandy, cassis' blackcurrant. Still, the biggest punches come from the fresh fruit you use. You can definitely be imaginative here, but why not try:
- Orange, pear and blackberry
- Orange and nectarine (add a little nutmeg)
- Pear, blackberry and strawberry
I often like to keep the leftover fruit for later - it can make a tasty dessert served with ice cream, cream or perhaps the vegan oatly vanilla custard.