Drinks and Cocktails
Hot Mulled Wine from Quebec – The Caribou
Ah, the joys of taping a barbecue TV show in Quebec in May. Normally, you’d expect clear skies and warm weather. One morning, we awoke to three inches of snow. So we did what any practical Quebecer would do: brushed off the grills and shoveled off the set, fortifying ourselves with a local cold weather pick-me-up called the Caribou. You start with hot mulled wine, which you reinforce with brandy. It blasts glühwein and glogg (European mulled wines) off the table, and it just may be one of the reasons French Canadians not only tolerate winter but welcome it. Bring it on!
Hot Mulled Wine – The Caribou
Hot Mulled Wine from Quebec – The Caribou
Recipe Notes
- Total Time: About 10 minutes
- Yield: Makes 8 cups
- Equipment: Your basic bar gear including a zester or vegetable peeler, plus a large heavy saucepan and a ladle.
Ingredients
- 1 orange
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 lemon
- 1 piece (2 inches) fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise
- 4 cinnamon sticks (3 inches), broken in half
- 2 bottles (750 milliliters each) dry red wine
- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup or honey, or 3/4 cup sugar, or more to taste
- 1 cup Cognac or other brandy, in a measuring cup with a spout
Recipe Steps
1: Using a vegetable peeler, remove two 1-1/2-by-1/2-inch strips of zest from the orange, being careful to remove only the orange rind, not the bitter white pith underneath. Stick 3 cloves in each strip of zest. Thinly slice the orange and lemon crosswise. Remove any seeds with a fork.
2: Place the strips of orange zest, orange and lemon slices, ginger, cinnamon sticks, wine, and maple syrup in a large heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and let the wine simmer gently until spicy and richly flavored, about 10 minutes. Taste for sweetness, adding more maple syrup as necessary. Turn off the heat but keep the wine warm in the saucepan.
3: Just before serving, dim the lights. Gently pour the Cognac into the saucepan so that it floats on the wine. Touch a match to the Cognac so it flambés. When the flames burn out, stir the Cognac into the wine, then ladle the Caribou into mugs. Try to include an orange or lemon slice and piece of cinnamon stick in each mug.
