• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Charming Cocktails
  • Recipe Index
  • Tutorials
  • About
  • Amazon Shop
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipe Index
  • Tutorials
  • About
  • Amazon Shop
  • Subscribe
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipe Index
    • Tutorials
    • About
    • Amazon Shop
    • Subscribe
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    Home All Cocktails

    Mulled Wine with Brandy

    Published: Dec 11, 2021 by Kimberly · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my newsletter and never miss a recipe! Cheers!

    mulled wine on a tabletop with twinkling Christmas lights and tree

    It's so easy to make Mulled Wine with Brandy, and it's such a comforting drink. Red wine paired with apple brandy and warm winter spices just gives such a cozy feeling. In this recipe, a touch of honey warms things up even more. The apple brandy also brings cider flavors that pair perfectly with the spices.

    mulled wine on a tabletop with a pot and brandy

    Mulled wine has a long history, and it's known by many different names, especially throughout Europe. Swedish glögg, German glühwein, Italian vin brulé and French vin chaud are just some of the names for similar drinks.

    It's such a classic Christmas drink that goes well at any party (or just relaxing at home). Of course, Eggnog is always a hit at the holidays too, but the warmth of mulled wine just hits perfectly after coming in from the cold.

    If you're looking for more warming cocktails, you can give this Whiskey and Caramel a try, or this Hot Apple Cider Cocktail with Rum.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Substitutions
    • Variations
    • Equipment
    • Instructions
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Top tip
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Ingredients

    The ingredients you'll need to have on hand are:

    • Red wine - I really liked this with Merlot, but Zinfandel and Malbec are also wonderful choices. Choose something that is not too complex or tannic.
    • Apple Brandy - I used Laird's Apple Brandy.
    • Orange - I used a navel orange.
    • Honey - just a touch of honey is perfect. If your wine is on the sweet side, you might want to omit the honey.
    • Mulling spices - this is usually sold as a mix of different spices like nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. It sometimes also includes dried citrus peels.
    orange, wine, brandy, honey and mulling spices on a table

    bottle of josh merlot

    Josh Cellars Merlot

    Buy Now →
    bottle of Laird's old apple brandy

    Laird's Old Apple Brandy

    Buy Now →

    Substitutions

    Here are some ways you can substitute in case you don't have some of the ingredients.

    • Red wine - although red wine is arguably best here, you can certainly use rose or white wine in this recipe.
    • Apple brandy - any fruit-based brandy would work well, but an aged spirit works even better here with the spices. You can try substituting in a blended whiskey or bourbon, or an aged rum. For a lower alcohol version, you can use port or sherry.
    • Orange - you can substitute a lemon for the orange, but you will probably want to add a little more sweetener if you do.
    • Honey - you can omit the honey if you don't have it, or add in a little maple syrup or plain sugar.
    • Mulling spices - if you can't get a bag of pre-mixed spices, see if you can find some whole spices, like cinnamon sticks, whole nutmeg and whole cloves. You'll need to crack them and break them up to get the best flavor, but into large pieces, not powdered. This makes it easy to strain them out.
    • Cinnamon sticks - optional, for garnish

    Variations

    You can mix things up by using a different wine, different spirit and altering your mix of spices. Here are some other variations as well:

    • Cranberry mulled wine - add cranberry juice instead of orange juice, and add some fresh cranberries to the pot as it simmers.
    • Vanilla mulled wine - add a cut-up vanilla bean to the pot, as well as some vanilla syrup in place of the honey.
    • Apple cider mulled wine - this would go well with a white wine base. Add a cut-up apple in place of (or in addition to) the orange peel, and use fresh apple cider instead of fresh orange juice.
    • Spiced Sangria - add mulling spices to a sangria, like my Fall Sangria with Apple Cider, for a flavorful cold drink.
    top view of mulled wine in a mug with a cinnamon stick

    Equipment

    You'll need a few things to make this mulled wine:

    • A pot, at least 1.5 quarts/1.5 liters in size
    • A corkscrew (unless you're using screw-top wine, which I actually love, no judgements here)
    • Jigger or small measuring cup
    • Knife, cutting board and peeler for the orange
    • Spice grinder, or mortar and pestle - only if your spices aren't already cracked
    • Serving glasses, preferably a mug style with a handle
    • Ladle and strainer to serve

    Image of Saucepan with lid - 1.6 Qt

    Saucepan with lid - 1.6 Qt

    Buy Now →
    Image of Barfly Jigger

    Barfly Jigger

    Buy Now →
    Image of Irish Coffee Mugs

    Irish Coffee Mugs

    Buy Now →

    Instructions

    To get started, cut a whole orange in half. Juice half of the orange, and use a peeler to take a long strip of peel from the outside of the orange. Try not to get too much of the white pith.

    Add the fresh orange juice and the peel to your pot. Then, add in your spices.

    • cutting an orange in half
    • add mulling spices to the pan

    Add in the brandy, and then add in the full bottle of wine. Then turn on the heat to medium low.

    • pouring brandy into a pot
    • pouring wine into a pot filled with spices

    Once the mixture has warmed a little, add in the honey. The warmth will help the honey to dissolve fully into the mixture. Give it a stir to combine.

    Let it simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Taste test it and if you want a stronger spice flavor, you can leave it on the heat for a little bit longer, or add more spices. When you're happy with the taste, you can then turn the heat down to low and keep it on the stove while you're serving, or move the pot to a trivet.

    • adding honey to the pot
    • ladeling out the mulled wine

    Serve the wine by ladling it out of the pot and passing it through a strainer into the serving glass. Add a long cinnamon stick and a whole star anise for garnish.

    Hint: you can toast your mulling spices for a little extra toasty flavor. Just add them to the pot first, and toast them until they are fragrant, around 5 minutes. Then add the orange juice and continue with the recipe.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Is brandy necessary for mulled wine?

    No, you can just use wine if you don't have brandy. Keep in mind your drink will have a lower alcohol since you're also adding juice and other ingredients. You can also swap the brandy out for port, sherry or whiskey.

    What wine should I use for mulled wine?

    Red wine with fruit-based flavors works really well in mulled wine. Look for words like plum, jam, or red fruits in the description of the wine. Some great varieties for mulled wine include Merlot, Zinfandel, Shiraz, Syrah or Malbec.

    How do you get the bitterness out of mulled wine?

    If you're finding your mulled wine to be bitter, you may have heated it to to high of a temperature, or too quickly. You may also have left on too much of the white pith part of the orange peel. Try to keep the temperature low so it doesn't boil, just simmers.

    Top tip

    You can also make mulled wine in a slow cooker or an Instant Pot pressure cooker. For the slow cooker, just add everything in and set it to low heat. With a cover, you can let it warm up for about an hour. For the Instant Pot, you can just use the saute function on low to heat it up. It's not recommended to pressure cook with too high of alcohol content.

    📖 Recipe

    two mugs of mulled wine on a red tablecloth

    Mulled Wine with Brandy

    Kimberly Salem
    Mulled wine with brandy is a delicious drink for the holiday season, and anytime you need a warming cocktail.
    5 from 2 votes
    Pin Recipe Print Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 15 minutes mins
    Total Time 25 minutes mins
    Course Drinks
    Cuisine American, European
    Servings 6 drinks
    Calories 168 kcal

    Equipment

    • Saucepan or pot, at least 1.5 quarts
    • Jigger or measuring cup
    • Knife and cutting board
    • Citrus Peeler or Knife
    • Serving glass
    • Ladle
    • Strainer

    Ingredients

    • 1 ounce fresh squeezed orange juice from about half a navel orange
    • strip of orange peel
    • ¼ cup mulling spices cracked whole spices, not powdered
    • 1 ounce honey
    • 3 ounces apple brandy
    • 1 bottle red wine 750 ml

    Instructions
     

    • Juice half of an orange and add it to your pot. Use a peeler to remove a long strip of the orange peel, taking care not to get too much white pith on it. Add the peel into the pot.
    • Add the mulling spices to the pot.
    • Add the apple brandy to the pot.
    • Add the red wine to the pot.
    • Stir everything up and place the pot on medium low heat.
    • When the mixture warms, add in the honey and stir.
    • When the mixture reaches a simmer, keep it there for about 10 minutes.
    • After 10 minutes, turn the heat down to low or remove it from the heat.
    • Using a ladle and strainer, strain the drink into your serving glasses.
    • Garnish with a cinnamon stick and whole star anise pod.

    Video

    Nutrition

    Calories: 168kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 9mgPotassium: 219mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 37IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 41mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword alcohol, apple brandy, brandy, Christmas, cocktail, holiday cocktail, mulling spices, red wine, wine
    Subscribe for more!Join our email list for weekly recipes!
    Made with WP Recipe Maker plugin

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    No Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    mulled wine on a tabletop with twinkling Christmas lights and tree
    Subscribe to the Charming Cocktails email list
    Kim, the blog author

    I'm Kim, a cocktail enthusiast (and cold brew coffee lover). Here you'll find recipes, tips and tricks to make delicious cocktails at home! More about me →

    • Instagram
    • Link to Limoncello Kitchen YouTube channel.
    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    2024 Charming Cocktails Wall Calendar - 30% off until December 6th. Images of the calendar are on a marble countertop.

    Seasonal Recipes

    • two cranberry and orange juice mocktails surrounded by cranberries and evergreens
      Cranberry and Orange Juice Mocktail
    • White Christmas Margarita cocktail on a gray countertop. The drink is white in color with red cranberries and rosemary as a garnish, and dried coconut is on the rim of the glass. The countertop has coconut sprinkled on it and a lime and cranberries are visible in the background.
      White Christmas Margarita
    • Side view of a Candy Cane Martini in a martini style glass. The drink is white and the rim of the glass is coated in crushed candy cane pieces. A mini candy cane is on the rim of the glass. To the left, a dish of crushed candy canes and some wooden coasters are visible. To the right, a white plate, a small glass filled with mini candy canes, and a white vase are visible.
      Candy Cane Martini
    • Overhead view of a Christmas Mule cocktail in a copper mug on a countertop. The drink is garnished with fresh cranberries, rosemary and a lime slice.
      Christmas Mule
    • Overhead view of a Rum Hot Toddy cocktail in a glass mug on a gray countertop with a cinnamon stick, star anise and lemon slice in the glass as a garnish.
      Rum Hot Toddy
    • Close up of a glass mug filled with a Sugar Cookie Eggnog cocktail. The rim is coated in sugar cookie crumbs and there is a sprinkling of nutmeg on top. Another mug sits slightly behind it and some sugar cookies are visible to the bottom left. Red and green decor is in the background.
      Sugar Cookie Eggnog

    Footer

    mulled wine on a tabletop with twinkling Christmas lights and tree

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • Subscribe
    • Privacy Policy

    Social

    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
    • Facebook

    Contact

    • Contact Me
    • Photo Portfolio

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2020-2023 Kimberly Salem Photography, LLC

    mulled wine on a tabletop with twinkling Christmas lights and tree
    Manage Cookie Consent
    We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
    Functional cookies Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
    View preferences
    {title} {title} {title}