Oh the weather outside is frightful! But inside the mead’s delightful.
Yes, Winter is a time for little treats and we’ve been mulling our Wild Red Mead since Halloween but the a great recipe for a hot drink with Atlantic Dry Mead was elusive. After much experimentation, we’ve finally settled on a spiced warming hot mead punch recipe that’s as easy to make as it is delicious. So have a go yourself and settle down with a loving cup.
Here, we’ve taken a classic hot punch or toddy recipe and replaced the heady whiskey or bourbon with the smoothness and welcome honey of our Atlantic Dry Mead. Gently warmed and gently spiced with a splash of apple juice and honey to sweeten it naturally. Sip it in front of a glowing fire or watch the Christmas lights twinkling.
Our serving suggestion? A piece of fudge we’ve found is a great accompaniment or dried fruit such as figs and dates.
Midweek evening or weekend nights, coming in from a brisk, cheek-reddening walk, a visit with friends and family or even a day’s shopping, there’s nothing like a hot punch to keep you warm and toasty!
Ingredients
- 1 bottle of Atlantic Dry Mead
- 250ml apple juice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 1/2 tsp pink peppercorns
- slices of fresh ginger root about half the size of your thumb
- strip of orange peel
- strip of lemon peel
- 2 tsp of honey to taste
- Garnish: Orange slice and 1 Tbsp of raisins
Method
- Muddle the peels, ginger and peppercorns gently with a muddler or pestle (or even a spoon) to release the flavours.
- Add everything except the garnish to a pan and heat gently- don’t boil.
- Fill your Toddy glasses with hot water from the kettle and cover the top with a plate to keep warm
- Steep spices in the pan for minimum 5 minutes
- Empty the hot water from your warmed toddy glasses and add the raisins
- Strain the hot punch into the glasses and add the orange slice
- That’ll warm the cockles!
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- Tip: The key to any hot drink is the garnish. Hot water and alcohol release heady fumes that evaporate from the glass. The orange slice floats to the surface, blocking the steam from billowing up, and the heat from the water enhances the cinnamon aromatics.
- Substitutions: You can add any dried fruit you have in your cupboard – cranberries, currants, sour cherries, even try 1 tsp of red jam like the Russian hot drink called Sbiten
- Instead of pink peppercorns, black peppercorns are fine or try allspice berries if you have some.
- Add some Ginger Ale in to make a longer drink
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