Summary

Makes: 1 bottle (700 ml)

Time needed: 10 minutes (and at least 24 hours for the flavours to infuse)

Ingredients

100 ml (1/2 cup) vodka

3 cinnamon sticks

10-20 thumb sized piece of ginger (peeled)

1 tsp cardamom pods

½ a Seville orange (peel only)

1 bottle of red wine

220 g (1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar

1 tsp vanilla sugar

1 tsp raisins

1 tsp almonds (blanched and peeled)

Method

1. Pour the vodka into a small jar. Add the cinnamon, cloves, ginger, orange peel, and cardamom. Cover and leave to infuse for a few days.

2. Strain the mixture through kitchen paper or a coffee filter into a saucepan.   

3. Add the wine and sugars. Heat slowly, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour into sterilised bottles* and keep until required.  

4. Heat gently before serving, but don’t let it boil.

* Sterilise by washing bottles and then placing in an oven at 120C for five minutes.

Serving suggestions

Place a few raisins and almonds at the bottom of each glass, then top up with glögg. Glögg and pepparkakor (ginger snaps) and/or lussekatter (saffron buns) go well together.

Tips

– Glögg is at its best when the flavours are plentiful – give them time to mature by making your drink a week in advance of planned consumption. The recipe is based on one bottle of red wine, which should serve six people. Scale up the quantities according to the number of guests you’re expecting.  

– Glögg will keep for several weeks and can be poured into sterilised bottles for storing. 

Recipe courtesy of John Duxbury, Editor and Founder of Swedish Food.