A traditional and delightful brew for the season is mulled wine or mulled cider. This is a super easy way to enjoy the cooler weather with friends and family and welcome in Fall or enjoy during the Winter months. This witches brew can be made any number of ways with any number of ingredients. This just happens to be the way I make it and it is AMAZING! This Samhain hot cider is made in a crock pot with red wine, apple cider, and visionary herbs and spices of Samhain to help increase your psychic awareness.
Ingredients:
1tbsp Allspice
1tbsp Nutmeg
1 Handful Cloves
1 Handful Star Anise
3 Cinnamon stick/ 1tbsp ground cinnamon
(I use ground cinnamon because I feel like it is absorbed into the drink better)
1 Fresh Orange
Orange Peel
1 Fresh apple
1 Quart Bottle Red wine
1 Quart Pomegranate Juice
1 Quart Apple Cider
1/2 Cup Vodka, Rum, or brandy
Optional:
1/2 Inch Ginger Sliced
1tsp Cardamom
1/8-1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1tbsp Honey
Directions:
Place all loose spices in a muslin bag to be dunked into the cider later to simmer or you can float the larger ingredients on top and only place the powdered ones in the bag like how I did. By placing the herbs in the bag it makes it easier to pour without having to strain them out when it is finished.
Fresh fruits are traditionally added to the brew. Fresh apple slices and orange slices can be shaped into stars/pentacles or crescent moons. You can put them on your glass as well. Uses your imagination! Just make sure if they are going on the glass, you put them off to side or they will grow mushy in the simmering brew. These are a soft desert later on once the cider is finished. Add the orange peel as well as a sort of garnish, both in the pot as well as to your glass.
In a large pot on the stove or a crockpot, add 1 quart (4 cups) of red wine, 1 quart of apple cider/ cranberry/ fruit juice of your choice, and 1 quart of pomegranate juice. Add all of the herbs in a muslin bag or throw them in to float on top of your brew. Finally, if you prefer a sweeter beverage like I do, add 1/8 – 1/4 of a cup of sugar/ brown sugar to taste. Add it slowly and taste it over time to make sure you like how sweet it is. Experiment with different optional ingredients until you have created something special! Simmer until the desired taste is reached.
Garnish with apple slices, orange slices, orange spirals, anise and cinnamon sticks.
From our altar to yours, with love from the sea,
