December 13, 2010 | By Jason Judge | General Blogging

It’s that time again – the lead up to Christmas and time to cook up a batch of mulled wine. Drinking it is half the joy, the other half being the spicy aroma that lingers around the office for days.

As usual, we start with the basic recipe, then try a few alterations each year. The idea is not for any single ingredient to be a prominent part of the taste, but for all to work together to create something new. This time the tweaks are:

• Add orange and lemon. I usually try one or the other, but I think putting half an orange and half a lemon into the pan with a bottle of wine kind of widens the spectrum of the flavours.
• Vanilla – a short length of vanilla pod. This adds a little something to the aroma.
• Juniper berries and allspice – just a couple of each.
• A couple of green cardamom pods, broken open.

A shot of vodka also adds a bit of warmth. We really must not let this become too much of a habit, but it’s cold outside, and it’s Christmas, so we can be forgiven.