Mulled wine, toddies get an update
Transitions are rarely linear— in life, love or seasons. As the days get shorter and colder, drinks that garner a sense of coziness, like toddies and mulled wine, can take you right fromthe cusp of fall to cuffingseason.
Toddies and mulled wine have a long history, with mulled wine dating toRomanantiquity and the toddy to the mid-18th century. Both have stuck through to modern times and iterations, and both have simple, adaptable base formulas.
Start with the toddy. “It is essentially spirit andsweetener, usually dilutedwith an option to serve either cold or hot,” saidAl Culliton, a drinks historian and writer in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
Modern versions often skewhot andwhiskey-forward, and are generally thought of as an under-theweather drink. But “there’s somuchmore to the toddy than you might think,” said Culliton, whouses the pronouns they and them.
They suggest using it to showcase aged spirits. Bourbon is readily tapped, but other spirits like rum, scotch, Cognac, amaro, port and sherry can help lift a toddy beyond sniffles remedy. Whilewater ismost commonly used to dilute toddy, you canswap in tea for an added layer of complexity. Culliton often reaches for an English breakfast tea.
And, just as a cold drink is best served cold, a hot toddy should be, well, hot.
Even room-temperature spirits can alter the temperature of the drink, Culliton says, “so anything you can do to keep everything at the same temperature is great.”
To ensure everything is appropriately hot, they suggestwarming everything up— serving glass or mug, and spirits. Then, fill the serving glass ormug with hotwater. Set the bottom half of a shaker tin in hotwater in a separate vessel, add the spirits and let it all heat through. Tip out the hotwater into the now-preheated serving glass ormugand build the drink.
Mulled wine, another traditionallywarming beverage, can also benefit froma contemporary overhaul.
The act of mulling refers to infusing the drink — generally redwinebased— with spices and a sweetener, and heating it. Sometimes brandy, aquavit or dried fruit are added. Whether you call it vin chaud, glogg, glühwein, or, indeed, mulled wine, the result is a hot, sweet, often over-spiced drink, ladled out during the holiday season and sipped more as a handwarmer than anything else.
But just as chilling a light redwine is a pro move, so, too, is serving a mulled wine chilled. Infusing a light redwith classic mulling spices, byway of a simple syrup, creates a drink that is cozy in essence, rather than in temperature. The spiced drink is then fortifiedwith Cognac and shakenwith ice to give it its renegade chill.