18 December: Festive mulled wine with the HANSEATIC inspiration

Although mulled wine has a long tradition - various preparations for sweetened (vina condita) and peppery wines (vina piperata) have been handed down to us from Roman times - the oldest recipe for mulled wine is less than 200 years old. According to it, wine was heated with cinnamon, pomegranate, nutmeg, cardamom and saffron, sweetened with sugar and drunk hot from glasses. From the ingredients, it is easy to see that this warm wine was a special drink. In the mid-19th century, few households had such ingredients.

The mulled wine that Corporate Executive Chef Timon Lohrengel has created for the festive moments aboard our ships is also an exclusive hot beverage. He complements classic ingredients such as cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cardamom and ginger with a shot of fine spirits - Myers's rum and Grand Marnier - and adds a little pepper. The result is an elegant, spicy-scented Christmas drink. Johanna Krupka, bar manager of the HANSEATIC inspiration, and Elaheh Alizadah, maitre on board the expedition ship, have prepared the "Red Chai Pepper Mulled Wine." And are quite excited about it.

We're happy to share the full recipe:

Red Chai Pepper Mulled Wine

Ingredients

1 l red wine - 15 black peppercorns - 4 cloves - 2 cinnamon sticks - 2 star anise - 6 cardamoms (green) - 100 g ginger - 2 oranges - 1 lemon - 1 tangerine - 100 g honey - 100 ml Myers's Rum Original Dark - 50 ml Grand Marnier - 1 pinch sugar

Preparation

Bring all the ingredients to the boil slowly, except for the spirits, otherwise they would boil away, and leave to infuse for ten minutes. Finally, add the spirits, season with a little sugar, and pour through a sieve into mugs or heatproof glasses. 

Cheers!