For this holiday season at home, making some spiced drinks may spice up your evening.
Twin Cities food writer Lindsay Guentzel shares her recipes for Scandinavian Glogg and infused vodka. Lindsay's tips:
- Spices are key. Use whole spices and crush at home for maximum flavor.
- A non-oaked, fruit forward red wine is ideal for adding different flavors to the glogg. Doesn’t need to be expensive.
- Infused vodka must be stored in a fridge after being made (it has fresh ingredients in it). If vodka is not your thing, whiskey or bourbon would be a great substitute.
More recipes can be found at LindsayGuentzel.com.
Infused Vodka
1/2 liter vodka (I used gluten-free Gray Duck Handcrafted Vodka)
4 sticks cinnamon, crushed
1 thumb-size piece of ginger, chopped (doesn’t need to be peeled)
6 whole cloves
1 tsp cardamom seeds
Directions:
In air-tight container, combine vodka, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and cardamom. Shake well. Place in fridge overnight.
When you are ready to use, filter out spices using a mesh colander and a funnel.
Infused vodkas need to be refrigerated.
Tip: If you are short on time, place vodka in fridge and take out to shake vigorously every so often. Ideally, you want to give the flavors ample amount of time to infuse the vodka.
Scandinavian Glogg
1.5 bottles red wine (I used a fruit-forward, non-oaked Italian red)
1 stick cinnamon, crushed
6 whole cloves
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 whole orange
Directions:
In large pot, combine one cup of red wine with cinnamon, cloves, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Hold grater over the pot and zest around the orange. Set orange aside.
Stir well.
Bring pot to simmer and leave for 5-7 minutes.
Using mesh colander over a large measuring cup, filter out added ingredients.
Return wine mixture to pot. Pour remaining wine and half of the second bottle into the pot. Add 1 cup of infused vodka.
Juice orange into the wine mixture.
Stir well.
Return wine to a light simmer for 20 minutes.
Taste; if mulled wine is too strong, add more brown sugar by the tablespoon until satisfied.