Yuletide Drinks

Happy Solstice and Joyous Yule! We have a full moon this year, so we’re staying up all night as a vigil for the coming sun!

We’re going to touch on three seasonal drinks here. First is a special infused brandy that we are going to save until next year, and hopefully will become an annual tradition. Second is a brief look at mulling spices. Last, we finish our Winter Solstice vigil with a hot spiced Chai and plan to watch the sun rise!

For our Solstice Brandy, you will need a gallon jar with lid, and many spices! Be creative, if you like certain flavors and not others. I only put in a couple cloves, for example. Some people add dried seasonal berries, like elderberries!

  • 1.75 liter brandy (cheap is fine)
  • 4 oranges, quartered (any variety you like)
  • 8 inches of cinnamon sticks
  • 24 peppercorns
  • 2 star anise
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 3 cardamon pods (lightly crushed)
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 2 juniper berries
  • 1 cup raw sugar
  • 1 inch ginger, sliced in half

Put the sugar in the jar first, just for ease of layering, then add everything else, and the brandy last. Seal it up, give it a good shake now and then throughout the year. Ideally put it somewhere out of direct light.

20181222_005941.jpg

We made two batches. We had three types of oranges, including those pretty pink Cara Cara ones.

20181222_010817.jpg

I’m very excited to try these next year! They live on the Hestia altar at my friend’s house.

Now for a quickie on mulling spices!

We did not use these tonight, but since my friend keeps her own blend on hand for mulling cider or wine, I asked to share her recipe.

Mulling Spices:

  • 3 or 4 Cinnamon sticks
  • 4 Tbsp whole cloves
  • 4 Tbsp whole allspice
  • 4 Tbsp whole cardamom
  • 4 Tbsp whole star anise
  • 4 Tbsp dried orange peel (optional)

Use a few tablespoons or a small handful with 1-2 bottle(s) red wine (or equivalent volume apple cider) in a low slow cooker, or a pot on low-med heat. Add 1 medium orange, sliced, to the simmering wine/cider. We also prefer adding 1/4 cup brown or raw sugar.

Now then, some hot spiced Chai!

I love Chai. I love it iced or hot, sweet or spicy. This one has a nice balance. We made it vegan using coconut milk, but you can use half and half or whole milk easily for a rich treat!

Chai Spice Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp whole cardamom pods (lightly crushed)
  • 3 Tbsp whole allspice
  • 3 Tbsp black peppercorns
  • 3 red chili pods
  • 4 star anise
  • 4 cinnamon sticks (roughly 12″)
  • 0.5 inch fresh ginger root, peeled

Simmer in a pot either loose or in large tea/muslin bags, in 4-5 quarts (we’re guessing, to be honest) water with:

  • 3 tbsp loose black tea (or, in our case, 5 black tea bags)

20181222_021925.jpg

Simmer for about a half hour. Strain. Add ~3/4 cup honey, or to taste, whisk till it dissolves. Then complete the drink with a can of full fat coconut milk (or half and half) and 1 tsp vanilla extract.

20181222_022412.jpg

By the way, if you love Chai flavors, you can mix these spices in sugar and leave them to infuse! Then you can strain them or blend in a food processor (way easier) and use in any recipe you’d use white sugar in.

20181222_012155.jpg

We’re currently enjoying some cold leftovers with our hot Chai, watching a baking show. We’ve got a few more hours to go before Sunrise, so we may try a guided meditation (there are several on YouTube for the Winter Solstice).

Much love, and merry meet!

20181222_022740.jpg

Edit: We made it!

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s