Hot Mulled Gin

I love hot drinks. From coffee to hot chocolate to lemon and honey (really). I prefer something warming to cold drinks generally, especially when the weather is rather chilly. When it comes to alcohol, I love a mulled wine at Christmas time. The smell of the cinnamon and sweet spices just put me in the festive mood. In the summer, when the sun goes down and it becomes cooler outdoors, a hot spicy cider is perfect. Something I first enjoyed at Glastonbury festival at the famous cider bus. So lovely.

A relatively new drink to me is actually gin. Not because it’s all of a sudden the height of fashion – especially with high end flavoured tonic water. But because it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I actually liked it. Before then I just couldn’t stand the stuff. But I guess with ‘age’ my taste buds are changing. I’m trying out different gins, different tonics and learning about the ‘botanicals’ (the flavours in the gin) and which fruit or spices go with which gin. Very technical. But now something I’ve just heard of is hot mulled gin! I’ve heard of a ‘Hot Toddie’ (with whiskey and sugar) and of course mulled wine and cider. But hot gin? Amazing!

A newly opened cocktail bar in town was selling it and that’s how I first learned about hot mulled gin. I was totally intrigued. Being a busy mum, and just not having the opportunity to have a wild night out, I decided this was probably something I could make myself. After looking up a few recipes, I just added some simple ingredients that I thought would go well together. I mulled it all, tasted it and loved it!

Hot Mulled Gin Recipe

So here is what I came up with – and you could try using different gins and ‘tweaking’ the recipe to get the right balance for that particular gin.

Ingredients (serves one)

• 150ml Apple Juice
• Double Measure Gin
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 2 Star Anise
• 4 or 5 Whole Cloves
• Squeeze Lime Juice

Method

Simply add all of the ingredients in a saucepan. Place on the hob and heat gently without boiling to steep the spices. After ten minutes serve in a heat proof glass or mug and enjoy.

So this sounds pretty easy, yes? It really is. I mulled my gin in ten minutes and gave it to my husband to blind taste. He is not a fan of gin, but he managed to knock it back!

If a double measure is a bit strong then cut it down to a single measure. The idea is to really play around with the ingredients. Add something you like the taste of – like vanilla or orange. Take away what you don’t like. Be creative and have fun with it. My guessing is it would taste slightly different each time it’s made.

Of course different gins also have different flavours so test them out.

This will be my new winter warmer – hope you enjoy it too!