As the festive season approaches, a warming glass of mulled wine is in order. Fill your home with the smell of holiday spices and ring in the cold months with this guaranteed spirit raiser.

Ingredients:

2 clementines
1 lemon
1 lime
200 g caster sugar
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsps cardamom pods
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
75ml brandy
2 bottles of red wine
2 star anise

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Instructions:

Peel large sections of peel from the clementines, lemon and lime. Put the sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the pieces of peel, cloves, cinnamon stick, about 10 to 12 gratings of nutmeg, brandy and pour just enough wine to cover the sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat until the sugar has dissolved.

Keep it boiling until you’ve got a beautiful thick syrup, about 4 to 5 minutes. When your syrup is ready, turn the heat down to low and add your star anise and the rest of the wine. Gently heat the wine and after around 5 minutes, when it’s warm and delicious, pour into heatproof glasses and serve.

Pro Tip: To avoid ruining your mulled drink with corked wine, make sure to taste the wine before adding it to the pan.