Glogg, Glogg, Glogg

Tonight I was invited to a Glogg tasting event at the Drake Hotel sponsored by the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce and the Swedish Young Professionals Club.

In case you are not familiar (and I'm guessing you're not) you could read on Wikipedia that Glogg is a basic Nordic form of mulled wine. Various areas of Northern Europe have different ways of mulling or serving it. On Sunday my Swedish neighbor introduced me to this drink for the first time.

She held a Glogg get-together for Advent, which is the 4th Sunday before Christmas. (This Advent info may seem basic to some of you, but I was not raised in a church so I have to google this stuff to prep for what I thought was a cocktail party!)

Anyway, at my neighbor's party, I had my first Glogg, which I am told is made with red wine and spices and made during the holiday season to celebrate. It was delicious. There was a hesitancy as I leaned into my first drink since the warmth of the cup made the fermented fumes rise into my nose, but I found that it was part of the attraction. It was delicious. Spicy and warm --- very Christmasy. An added bonus is that the Swedes elevate the Nordic tradition and serve almonds and raisins inside their Glogg. I personally think cocktails and food in the same container are genius. For further evidence look to the Bloody Mary. So, this way of serving Glogg really appealed to me.

Tonight at the Drake I did not have the same experience. Unfortunately, I think that the Drake just warmed up some wine and threw in cinnamon sticks and did not try to understand the recipes and culture for the event they were hosting. All's well that ends well since I had two nice glasses of non-Glogg good white wine and my neighbor agreed to send me a true Swedish Glogg recipe. When I do serve it, it will be with almonds and raisins. I will post it here upon arrival so stay tuned......

GLOGG

Combine the following:
2/3 c vodka
2 cinnamon sticks (about 3 inches each)
10 pods whole cardamon
15 cloves
1 piece of orange peel that is about 1x1 inch

Let the above ingredients sit together. After 2 hours remove the orange peel. Let the ingredients sit for another 46 hours.

When you are ready to drink the Glogg, remove all of the spices and add a bottle of red wine. Heat the Glogg and add a healthy amount of sugar to taste.

Serve with almonds and raisins if you like.