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Mulled White Wine with Apple Cider | The Perfect Drink for Fall and Winter

by corrie.pennington / October 16, 2020

This mulled white wine is made with apple cider, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, orange, and vanilla bean-infused vodka. The spices bring delicious warmth to the drink while the apple cider and brown sugar sweeten it the perfect amount. This mulled white wine recipe will be your new go-to for hosting fall and winter get-togethers. It's light enough to please your friends who don't like red wine, but it's also got enough spice to satisfy those who typically pass on white wine.

This mulled white wine with apple cider is made with brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, orange, and vanilla bean-infused vodka. The spices bring delicious warmth to the drink while the apple cider and brown sugar sweeten it the perfect amount.

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This mulled white wine recipe will be your new go-to for hosting fall and winter get-togethers. It’s light enough to please your friends who don’t like red wine, but it’s also got enough spice to satisfy those who typically pass on white wine.

I’m one of those people. I usually don’t like white wine. It’s often too sweet and too… juice-like for my liking. Give me alllll the dry red wine any day. But I have a few friends who wouldn’t drink red if their life depended on it. Okay, I’m sure they would if their life depended on it. They’d just really prefer not to. So what’s a fun cool-weather cocktail that would please people on both sides of the spectrum? Mulled white wine with apple cider.

My friend came over the other day and we made this together. It’s still pretty warm outside these days but since this is made with white wine, it feels a lot lighter than traditional mulled wine so were able to enjoy a mug-full while watching our kiddos play outside.

Before I jump to the recipe, there are few things to note. When making mulled wine, whether red or white mulled wine, it’s best to pick a wine that is on the dry side and isn’t too sweet. However, I had a bottle of sweet white Bordeaux and it actually turned out great. My friend and I chose to embrace the fruity notes and added some fresh apple cider in.

We also played-up the sweetness of the wine by adding vanilla bean-infused vodka and vanilla extract. Many traditional mulled wines are fortified with brandy. However brandy could overwhelm the delicate notes in white wine so vodka seemed like a better choice. You do you though.

One of the great things about mulled wine is that it’s extremely customizable. You can change up the number of spices you put in according to your personal preference. You can also taste as you go to see if you need to pull any spices out or add more in. Many white mulled wine recipes also call for a couple whole pods of star anise. Star anise is not my favorite flavor (it tastes like licorice), so I used it to garnish only.

Another thing to note: mulled white wine can be made ahead of time. It will typically keep for 1-2 days in the refrigerator and can be reheated on the stovetop before you’re ready to drink it. However, strain out all of the aromatics before storing it. Otherwise, you run the risk of the spices overpowering the whole deal.

Have you ever made mulled white wine with apple cider before? How do you like it compared to traditional mulled red wine? Let me know in a comment below!

A mulled white wine with apple cider and brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, orange, and vanilla bean-infused vodka. The spices bring delicious warmth to the drink while the apple cider and brown sugar sweeten it the perfect amount. This mulled white wine recipe will be your new go-to for hosting fall and winter get-togethers. It's light enough to please your friends who don't like red wine, but it's also got enough spice to satisfy those who typically pass on white wine.

Ingredients for Mulled White Wine with Apple Cider

1 bottle of white wine (dry or semi-sweet works well)
1 cup apple cider
zest* and juice from 1 orange
2-3 cinnamon sticks
3-4 whole cloves
3 cardamom pods
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 oz vanilla bean-infused vodka (caramel vodka could be good, too!)
1-2 Tablespoons of brown sugar

*be careful not to remove any of the pith (white part) as it will make the drink bitter

How to Make Mulled White Wine with Apple Cider

Add all of the ingredients except for the sugar into a medium-sized saucepan. Heat on low, allowing the wine to slowly heat up. Be careful not to boil it. When it starts to steam, remove from heat or put it on your stove’s “warm” setting. Add in the brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon at a time, tasting as you go to make sure you don’t oversweeten it. Allow the wine to mull for 20-30 minutes. Serve in a mug. You can strain the spices out or ladle them into the mug along with the wine.

Remove any spices before storing leftover mulled wine in an air-tight container in the fridge. It should keep for 1-2 days.

Mulled White Wine with Apple Cider

This mulled white wine is made with apple cider, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, orange, and vanilla bean-infused vodka.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 30 mins

Course Drinks

Servings 4

Equipment

medium-sized saucepan

Ingredients

1 bottle white wine (dry or semi-sweet works best)
1 cup apple cider
zest* and juice from 1 orange
2-3 cinnamon sticks
3-4 whole cloves
3 cardamom pods
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 oz vanilla bean-infused vodka
1-2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions

Add all of the ingredients except for the sugar into a medium-sized saucepan. Heat on low, allowing the wine to slowly heat up. Be careful not to boil it.
When it starts to steam, remove from heat or put it on your stove's "warm" setting. Add in the brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon at a time, tasting as you go to make sure you don't oversweeten it.
Allow the wine to mull for 20-30 minutes.
Serve in a mug. You can strain the spices out or ladle them into the mug along with the wine.
Remove any spices before storing leftover mulled wine in an air-tight container in the fridge. It should keep for 1-2 days.

Notes

*be careful not to remove any of the pith (white part) when zesting your orange. This will make the mulled wine bitter.

Keyword brown sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, mulled white wine, mulled wine, orange, vanilla extract, vanilla vodka, white wine

Interested in other drinks that are perfect for fall or winter? Check these out:

rum

Rum Old Fashioned | A 4 Ingredient Classic Cocktail Made with Decadent Demerara Sugar

by corrie.pennington / September 29, 2020

This Rum Old Fashioned sweetened with Demerara sugar is the perfect cocktail to sip on chilly nights. It’s a timeless classic that seasoned bartenders savor and yet is simple enough for even the most novice of home bartenders to whip up.

The Old Fashioned is a classic cocktail and it’s probably surprising that I haven’t posted the recipe here on Girl & Tonic yet. It’s one of those recipes that I have a hard time sitting down to write out because I have so many other recipe ideas swirling around in my head. I’m sure I’ll write it out one day. But for today, we’re gonna be talking about it’s warm & friendly cousin: the Rum Old Fashioned.

As with any cocktail that is spirit-forward, the quality of your rum here will make or break the drink. Normally, I’m all for penny-pinching. I don’t think you have to buy top-shelf alcohol to make a great cocktail. But save your lower-end rums for drinks that use ingredients with stronger flavor profiles, like a Jungle Bird, a Sea Monster, or a Dark & Stormy.

For this Rum Old Fashioned, you’re gonna want to use that nice bottle of golden, aged rum you’ve had stashed away for a while. Or maybe this will be the perfect excuse for you to splurge a little on a good-quality rum at the liquor store. I personally love having a range of spirits on hand for everyday drinks or special occasions.

Now, a traditional Old Fashioned calls for a sugar cube. You can definitely use a sugar cube in a Rum Old Fashioned. However, since we’re going the rum route, it feels too natural to use Demerara sugar. You can make it into a Demerara simple syrup like I did or you can use a teaspoon of it.

If you make the Demerara syrup, you’ll be able to use it in a lot of other cocktails like the classic Mai Tai or the aforementioned Jungle Bird. It’s also incredible in coffee. Demerara sugar has got a great toffee taste to it. You can sub in turbinado sugar, too.

Sometimes it’s tempting to skip the garnish on a cocktail. I’m guilty of it myself. But don’t skip the orange peel in this one. It adds just the right amount of orange essence without overpowering the drink.

It’s also tempting to forego adding bitters to a cocktail, After all, so many recipes just call for 1-3 dashes or drops of them. They make a big difference in any drink, but especially in this one. My friend refers to bitters as “seasoning for cocktails” and she’s right. You *can* skip bitters in a recipe… but it’s like going without seasoning on a chicken breast or french fries. You could… but why?

Plus, a bottle of bitters is inexpensive will last you for years and years. They’re a worthy investment for any home bartender. You can also experiment with other flavors of bitters such as orange bitters, cardamom bitters (I love!), and chocolate bitters. You could even make a Rum Old Fashioned with a couple dashes of chocolate bitters. Mm. Now that sounds nice.

This is also a cocktail that’s made without a cocktail shaker. Traditionally, cocktails that are spirit-forward are mixed and chilled by stirring them in a mixing glass and then straining them into your glass of choice. Here is a really pretty cocktail mixing glass I’ve had my eye on for a while. You can always just use the cup portion of your cocktail shaker. Or just make the drink right in the glass. I won’t tell anyone.

So, what do you prefer: a Rum Old Fashioned or the classic whiskey Old Fashioned? I’d love to hear your preference in the comments!

Ingredients for a Rum Old Fashioned

1 1/2 oz aged rum (good quality)
1/4 oz Demerara syrup or sugar
3-4 dashes of aromatic bitters
swatch of orange peel

How to Make a Rum Old Fashioned

Add the rum, Demerara sugar or syrup, and bitters to a mixing glass with ice. Stir well to combine and chill. Strain it over a large ice cube in a lowball glass. Twist the orange peel over the drink in order to release the oils. Place the orange peel in the drink. Enjoy.