I have a confession to make, I do not like the Swedish version of Glüwein. It’s sickly sweet and does not taste anything else than sugar, so much in fact that it burns my tongue. Mulled wine and real Glüwein I’m all good with. But whatever they have done in Sweden, it’s just adding vast amounts of sugar to something that resembles a red soft drink and somewhere along the lines there was suddenly alcohol involved in some way. Bleh!
What I usually do is take apple must and gently let it simmer on the stove with spices (sans alcohol). The downside to that is that it can take an hour or so before you get a warm and spicy beverage to enjoy. So when I saw one of my favourite Swedish TV personalities (Ernst Kirchsteiger), that also happens to have lived in the same small town in Sweden as me, make a spice essence I was hooked.
This makes it easier to just take this concoction, warm it with the apple must and once the beverage is warm enough, it’s ready.
So this is my version of Ernst spice essence.
- 1,5-litre water
- 3 Cinnamon sticks
- Cloves
- Cardamom pods
- Citrus peels (orange, lemon and lime)
- 5 cm fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
I let this simmer for a couple of hours on the stove and set it overnight. I add fresh ginger and a lot of it as I like to have my version of this mulled beverage without alcohol. Using ginger gives it a punch and warmth.
If you want an alcoholic version, you can add whatever alcohol you prefer, from blending it with red wine to adding a nice rum to it.