Traditional Glogg Recipe or Mulled Red Wine is found everywhere in Scandinavia. Spiced and slightly sweet, this warm red wine will keep you warm and cozy.
A few weeks ago, Wes and I took a very quick trip to Copenhagen. I fell in love with Scandinavian life and it is on my list to go back to and get to know even more. Winter and candlelight and warm blankets and all things cozy. I felt very at home there. (#hyggeforlife) While we were there, we walked through Tivoli Gardens. It was decorated for Halloween, but I had my first mulled wine or glogg (pronounced glue-gh) of the season. This one had a heavy pour of Amaretto in it too. It was a really cold night and we were walking around the gorgeous gardens and it felt like a romantic date in a Hallmark movie.
I fell in love with mulled wine a few years ago when my good friend on the Cape made it for me. It is a mulled white wine and I’ve made it more times than I can count. Ironically, she got her recipe from her time living in Stuttgart many years before we lived here. It is riesling-based (not the super sweet kind, but the dry one) and has lots of citrus in it. I love it so much and make it every Halloween.
I am not a big red wine fan, so I assumed that I wouldn’t really like mulled red wine. I was wrong. I’ve made this recipe three times since we got back from Denmark and I foresee buying a bottle of red just about every time I go to the German grocery store. This is a traditional glogg recipe, but there are as many variations as there are Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian grandmothers. I’m sure everyone puts their own spin on it.
Mine has sliced fresh ginger, some sugar, cardamom pods (be sure to smash them to let the seeds out), orange peel, cinnamon stick, almonds, raisins (I do not like raisins feel like it must be included because every recipe that I found had them in it), cloves, and slivered almonds.
Add sugar, orange zest, raisins, almonds, cardamom pods, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves to a medium saucepan. Pour in wine.
Simmer until wine reaches 175°. Or until the sugar has dissolved completely.
Remove from heat and let stand one hour.
Pour through a sieve. Pour into a bottle for another time or ladle straight in cups.
How pretty does this look? Even the cooked down spices and peels look gorgeous soaked in wine.
Garnish with a few raisins, almonds, orange slices, and a cinnamon stick. Optional, but always a good idea, add a splash of amaretto, vodka, or bourbon.
Traditional Glogg Recipe
Traditional Glogg Recipe or Mulled Red Wine is found everywhere in Scandinavia and most parts of Europe in the winter. Spiced and slightly sweet, this will keep you warm and cozy.
Ingredients
- Traditional Glogg Recipe //
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Zest from an orange
- 2 Tablespoons raisins
- 2 Tablespoons slivered blanched almonds
- 1 Tablespoon cardamom pods, smashed
- A fresh pieces of sliced fresh ginger
- 1 stick cinnamon, broken
- 8-10 cloves
- 1 bottle red wine (I use a $9 red blend)
- Garnish //
- Sliced orange
- slivered blanched almonds
- Cinnamon sticks
- Raisins
- Amaretto
- Bourbon
- Vodka
Instructions
Add sugar, orange zest, raisins, almonds, cardamom pods, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves to a medium saucepan. Pour in wine.
Simmer until wine reaches 175°. Or until the sugar has dissolved completely.
Remove from heat and let stand one hour.
Pour through a sieve. Pour into a bottle for another time or ladle straight in cups.
Garnish with a few raisins, almonds, orange slices, and a cinnamon stick. Optional, but always a good idea, add a splash of amaretto, vodka, or bourbon.
Notes
I make a batch and keep it in the fridge in a glass bottle. I gently reheat in a small saucepan.
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CARLEY PETERSON
13 Sep 2019Is it a splash of all of them or which ever you prefer?
bakedbree
13 Sep 2019I like a splash in all of them.
NG
23 Dec 2019This is NOT original Glogg! My great, great, uncle made it from scratch. The last batch I watched him make was in the 70’s and he was in his 80’s. He could barely speak English and his accent was thick, but his eyes were bright and spirited. He only made it for the Christmas holiday and it included fruits and hard alchohol and port…not red wine. Anyway….the word “traditional” is a little inaccurate. Your concoction sounds good, too, but it ISN”T traditional Glogg.
Bree Hester
4 Jan 2020Well, considering that I got the recipe in Denmark and was inspired by what I drank in Denmark, I would argue that it IS traditional. But like a lot of recipes and traditions, they are different from family to family, but not untraditional. But thanks for the “spirited” and slightly rude comment. Happy Holidays!
framtiden
20 Jan 2020i lived in sweden for the past three years – swedish glogg has variations.
until you find me the book of viking that has the original and only “traditional” glogg recipe of which ye speak , i will go by my experience living in the land itself. that experience is there are variations. most recipes i am aware of are a mixture of port, red wine, cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, an orange peel, brandy, sugar, raisins and almonds.
Bree Hester
20 Jan 2020Thank you Framtiden. 🙂
christi in ma
15 Jan 2020Bree, I gave glogg and mulled wine kits to my girlfriends for Christmas this year. Such a great presentation. They loved it. I mixed up the “tradition” a little and used the Trader Joes Golden Berry mix for the fruit in the glogg.
I also made your holiday light cupcakes for a friend whose 4 year old daughter asked Santa for Christmas cupcakes. (how cute is that??)
Thanks for having such great ideas. I love the blog.
Bree Hester
15 Jan 2020This makes me so happy, I am so glad that they liked receiving them. Happy to have you here!