With Christmas approaching, we all enjoy a glass of steaming hot mulled wine to warm us up from the winter chill. This year, the selection has expanded and the flavour trends are thinking outside the box, offering a few extra sensations beyond the usual.
Glögg is a Nordic hot drink that traditionally is a sweet and spiced beverage. It can consist of wine, spirits (such as schnapps, rum, brandy, and cognac), as well as juice and spices. The word glögg comes from the older word glödg, formed from the verb glödga ‹to heat up›. In Europe, the hot spiced wine goes by names such as vin chaud (French), glühwein (German), and mulled wine (English).
Glögg usually tastes of Christmas spices such as clove, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and bitter orange peel. However, new flavourings have been added in recent years. Today, you can find around 70 different varieties of glögg at Systembolaget, from the usual traditional glögg to the slightly more unusual ones with added flavourings such as saffron, cherry, apple, cloudberry, lingonberry, blackcurrant, arctic bramble, raspberry, plum, sea buckthorn or jalapeño.
Traditional glögg is drunk piping hot, around 70 degrees Celsius, with raisins and almonds, and is often served with gingerbread biscuits topped with blue cheese or with a piece of cheese. Try also using glögg in baking, in glögg parfait or in various stews.
The newer varieties can be drunk both hot and cold and even be included in various cocktails. Here I have selected four different flavours of mulled wine.
