You don’t need a recipe. You need a bottle of red wine you wouldn’t drink on its own, some whole spices, and an orange.

What goes in

  • 1 bottle cheap red wine
  • 1 orange, sliced into rounds
  • 4-5 whole cloves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 2-3 star anise
  • Honey or sugar, to taste

The wine should be something dry and unremarkable. Don’t use anything you’d actually pour yourself a glass of. The spices and heat will flatten anything interesting about it anyway.

Method

Everything in a pot. Low heat. Lower than you think.

The wine should steam but never bubble. A bare simmer at most. Twenty minutes like this. Maybe thirty.

Taste it. Add honey if it’s too dry, a splash of brandy if you want more warmth, more orange if it’s too spiced.

Strain or don’t. The spices look nice floating. The orange slices get ugly but taste good if you fish them out and eat them.

Serve in mugs. Not wine glasses.

What not to do

Don’t boil it. Boiled mulled wine tastes cooked and sad.

Don’t add too many spices. It shouldn’t taste like a candle.

Don’t make it too sweet. It’s wine, not dessert.

Don’t use white wine. It’s technically possible. But no.

Variations

A shot of brandy or rum near the end, off the heat.

A few cardamom pods if you have them.

Maple syrup instead of honey, though this is gilding the lily.

The house smells like this for hours afterward. That’s part of it.