Mulled Wine, Glühwein, and Glögg, OH MY!

Holiday cheer is in full-swing at my abode, so let’s talk about something festive this week. We got our first snow of the season recently, and it made me want to curl up with a roaring fire, a nice book, and a streaming cup of glühwein, or glögg, or mulled wine. I had fun imagining myself wandering around a cute, twinkly European Christmas Market, staying warm from within from the spiced, heated alcohol. 

…And now I want it again. Dang it. 

Luckily, it’s fairly common this time of year to come across mulled wine, or mulled wine cocktails, or mulled wine kits! 

So let’s talk about what it is, where it came from, why it has many names, and how to make it, so we can all be cute European Christmas Wanderers. 

The Basics

We must, of course, start with “what is it?” 

Mulled wine is a wine-based drink made with the addition of spices and fruits and served warm or hot. It’s a traditional drink around the Christmas season, and is very popular at outdoor holiday markets found throughout Europe. 

Essentially, it’s Christmas in a mug, and is warm and strong enough to bolster you through being at an outdoor market during the coldest, darkest months of the year. 

And, we can use that same definition for both Glögg and Glühwein. There are a few traditional differences between the three of them, but realistically, the brand definition above works. 

Glögg

Glögg is the Swedish version of these holiday treats. In my research I saw it phonetically spelled both “gloog” and “glook”, so I guess take your pick and hope for the best. 

The name means “glow” and references the glow you’ll exude from the inside out with this boozy, warm drink. 

I say it’s Swedish, but there are same/similar versions all throughout the Nordic regions, spelled similarly. It is spelled gløgg in Norwegian, Danish and Faroese, glögg in Swedish and Icelandic and glögi in Finnish and Estonian.

One interesting fact I found about Glögg is that it can be made out of either red or white wine. I’m not sure I’ve ever actually had a white wine-based one, but I’d sure as heck be willing to give it a try! 

There were two main standout differences about the traditional Glögg recipes I found, vs Glühwein or mulled wine. 

First, it is always served with a spoon! This is because dried fruits and nuts are added to the drink and are supposed to be eaten after you’ve drained your glass. 

Second, it is common to spike the already-boozy drink with a shot of either aquavit or vodka when serving it up. 

Glow from within indeed, after having vodka spiked warmed wine! 

Glühwein

And now we head slightly south to Germany. Glühwein is the germanic version of Glögg, though it’s also found throughout the Alsace region of France and into Russias as well. The name literally also means “glow wine” though it seems the rough translated mean ins “smoldering wine”, which refers to the temperature the wine is heated to.

The ingredients and assembly are very similar to our drink above, with just a few notable differences. 

First, I saw it referenced that Glühwein is often less sweet than Glögg. This seems to be because the latter is often made with dry red wine, then purposefully sweetened with the chosen spices and addition of fruits and nuts. 

Second, it seems quite popular to emphasize the orange fruits in Glühwein. Traditionally, this is done by adding orange peel to the spice mix, but now it is quite common to add a splash of orange liquor such as Cointreau or Gran Marnier to up the ante on the orange. 

It seems fairly common to also add a shot of something to Glühwein as well (this is ordered by saying “mit Schuss” meaning “with shot”) but this time it’s usually Brandy or Rum. 

Now, I’m not a big rum drinker, but hell, that sounds like a fantastic addition in this case!

Mulled Wine

Now that we’ve traveled throughout Europe, we’ll end on the British Isles. Mulled wine is the English version of the two drinks above, again commonly found during the holiday month. Mulled cider can also be found, and mulled ale is very traditional and historical, but not seen that often anymore. 

The definition of “mull” now is very practical and what you’d expect, according to Merriam-Webster, it means “to heat, sweeten, and flavor with spices.” But just like Glühwein there is an additional connotation, which is “to mill”. When making mulled wine, you don’t want to use ground spices, so don’t go that far, but you do want to bruise the whole spices you are using, for best effect. 

Just like the others, it seems folks love to add just a little bit more alcohol to the drink, and in the UK it is popular to add Brandy or Ginger Wine. 

The Through Line

While there are small differences between the three of these drinks, for most intents and purposes, they are the same. They all use a wine base, they all seem to enjoy adding a shot of the local good stuff, and they all use similar spices (which are: orange, lemon, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, fennel seed (or star anise), cloves, cardamom, and ginger).

I also found a similarity that many recipes, from all over, often include port as part of the wine used. 

And speaking of recipes, there are so, so, SO, many out there. From NY Times Cooking, to AllRecipes, to local beautiful blogs, everyone seems to have their own special recipe for mulled wine. 

“But Molly”, you say, “that sounds like a lot of work, boiling wine then simmering it with spices I had to curate!” 

Sure. It’s winter, dark and cold, and hard to make oneself do anything, much less bruise cinnamon sticks. I get it. 

You can also find pre-made mulling kits pretty much anywhere this time of year! And if you want to go even further down the pre-made rabbit hole, you can also find wine with the spices already added. All you have to do is heat and serve. 

Weekly Adventure

Given that this can be as easy or diy as you want it to be, I think we can all agree that we will make, heat, or order some mulled wine this season! I know I’m already mentally planning out what I’ll need to buy to make this on Christmas Day. 

Cheers,

Molly

References

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1448-swedish-mulled-wine-glogg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulled_wine

https://nordicspirits.com/en/difference-between-glogg-and-gluhwein

https://tastefoodblog.com/2011/12/15/glogg-gluwein-mulled-wine/

https://www.curiouscuisiniere.com/glogg-mulled-wine/

https://northwildkitchen.com/glogg-norwegian-mulled-wine/

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/20538/gluehwein/

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-mulled-wine-and-gluhwein