Christmas Mull

Serves about 6

Ingredients

  • 1 bottle red wine, good, ordinary, everyday red
  • a pinch mixed spice
  • a pinch cloves
  • a pinch cinnamon
  •   orange, sliced
  •   lemon, sliced
  • to taste sugar
  • half a glass port, brandy or liqueur

Method

  1. For every bottle of red wine, add a pinch each of mixed spice, cloves and cinnamon, together with orange and lemon slices and sugar to taste, plus half a glass of port, brandy or liqueur.
  2. Pour into a saucepan and heat gently, taking care not to boil.

Notes

Mulled wine is another firm Christmas favourite. The key is to buy a good, ordinary, everyday red such as Sainsbury's Arruda from Portugal and avoid boiling it. Getting rid of any leftover liqueurs or spirits in this mull is entirely socially acceptable — you can use port, brandy or any orange-based liqueur such as Cointreau. Try laying in a miniature or two if your drinks cupboard boasts none of these.