Tuesday 22 December 2015

Mulled Ginger Beer

There are so many Christmas traditions I love, from the classic minced pies, fruit cake and of course, the turkey with all its trimmings on the big day itself. But this is also treat-season and boy, I do know how to treat myself well. After a somewhat productive day off doing the Christmas shopping, I want to wallow more in the festivities.

At home, I put on Christmas carols and I make my mulled ginger beer. I do love the more traditional mulled wine, believe me (that is my drink of the season), but this mulled ginger beer is lighter and just all too drinkable which in my case can be dangerous.

It is full of Christmas warmth from the ginger beer, strong ginger and lemon tea, and slices of fresh ginger. But not just heat, it is also fruity from the lemon in the tea and the clementine. Spice wise, cinnamon is a must and a couple of aromatic cloves. And since I am in the Caribbean, I feel like adding a generous splosh of dark rum is very appropriate. I add the rum at the very end, because I don't want to lose all the alcohol. Don't judge me.

This is a great drink to make for a party because it can be made well in advance and it'll sit happily on a low heat. Plus, your guests will arrive with the most welcoming scent. 

If you want to make a virgin version of this, just switch the ginger beer to the non-alcoholic kind and leave out the rum, obviously. 

Have a Happy Christmas everyone!


Mulled Ginger Beer
Serves 1, happily

330 ml ginger beer
200 ml ginger and lemon tea
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, or to taste
1/2 clementine
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 cm fresh ginger, cut into slices
A generous splosh of dark rum

Pour the cider and tea into a saucepan, add the brown sugar and put over a low heat to mull. Stud the clementine with a couple of cloves and add to the pan with the cinnamon stick and slices of fresh ginger. 

Let the mixture simmer and infuse nicely. Add the rum at the end, serve and enjoy!


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