Honey Free Mulled Wine (Glühwein)
Warm, spiced, and deeply aromatic, this classic German mulled wine is the kind of drink that turns a cold evening into something genuinely festive. A bottle of dry red wine gets slowly coaxed with cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, cloves, and fresh citrus until the whole kitchen smells incredible. Granulated sugar does all the sweetening here — no honey or any other liquid sweetener involved — so you get full control over the final flavor without any hidden ingredients to second-guess. The brandy or dark rum adds a subtle depth that rounds out the spice beautifully, and the low-and-slow heat keeps the alcohol from cooking off too aggressively. Patience is the real secret: keeping the wine just below a boil lets the spices bloom without turning bitter. Ladle it through a strainer into your favorite mugs and you've got a drink that feels like it came straight from a Christmas market stall.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 1 bottle (750 ml) dry red wine (such as merlot, pinot noir, or dornfelder)
- ¼ cup brandy or dark rum
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar, plus more to taste
- 1 orange, sliced into rounds
- 1 lemon, sliced into rounds
- 6 whole cloves
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 4 whole star anise
- 4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- ¼ tsp whole black peppercorns (optional)
For serving
- orange slices or cinnamon sticks, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the red wine, brandy, sugar, orange rounds, lemon rounds, cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise, and cardamom pods in a medium saucepan. Add the peppercorns, if using.
- 2
Warm the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar, until steam rises steadily and small bubbles appear around the edges — about 10 minutes. Do not let the wine boil; reduce the heat to low as soon as it approaches a simmer.
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