There's nothing quite like a hot glass of mulled wine around a roaring fire.
Inviting in a guest in from the cold and giving a steaming glass of hot spiced wine to get the blood flowing, adding a little colour to the cheeks, and that little bit of booze to the brain to loosen the vocal chords and help the festive conversation flow.
Well, here is how I like to make my mulled wine...
Bottle of Robust Red Wine - Pinot Noir / Cabernet Sauvignon / Malbec / Shiraz
Honey - 2-3 Tablespoons
Nutmeg - 1/6th tsp ground
Cardamom Pod - split open
Cinnamon Stick - 2cm
Star Anise - 1/2
Cloves - 2
Zest of an Orange
Dark Rum - 50ml
Dark Chocolate - for grating on top
Put the honey in a heavy bottom pan (that has a lid) and turn on the heat, low.
Add in the Orange Zest, Cinnamon and Cardamom pod until the honey becomes really runny.
Add the Cloves, Star Anise, Nutmeg and the Rum and leave to infuse for 30 seconds.
Now add in the wine - the whole bottle!
Put the lid on and turn up the heat to medium and let it warm through. When you start seeing gentle wafts of steam, don't be tempted to lift the lid as this will be the alcohol warming up and it won't be warm enough yet.
Leave it for a couple of minutes more, then go on, have a cheeky taste, just to make sure there is enough sweetness.
If not, add another teaspoon, or 2, or 3 of honey.
Once it's at a good temperature and sweetness, ladle into wine glasses and garnish with a slice of orange and a few cranberries and if you want a little bit of green, use a sprig of rosemary, now grate just a little dark chocolate on the top and hand it out.