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 cuffing season.
Toddies and mulled wine have a long history, with mulled wine dating to Roman antiquity 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 and sweetener, usually diluted with an option to serve either cold or hot,” said Al Culliton, a drinks historian andwriter in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
Modern versions often skew hot and whiskeyforward, and are generally thought of as an under-theweather drink. But “there’s so much more to the toddy than youmight think,” said Culliton, who uses 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 is most commonly used to dilute toddy, you can swap 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.
Mulled wine, another traditionallywarming beverage, can also benefit from a contemporary overhaul.
The act of mulling refers to infusing the drink— generally red wine-based— 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 red wine is a promove, so, too, is serving amulled wine chilled. Infusing a light red with 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 shaken with ice to give it its renegade chill.