Mulled White Wine with Pear Brandy
The ingredients: white wine (dry or just off-dry), pear brandy (Poire William), Asian pear, cloves, ginger, cardamom, star anise, cinnamon and honey.
Step 1: Open the wine!
I used a dry Riesling for this batch, but I also liked it with Grüner Veltliner.
Fresh ginger makes all the difference in this recipe -- as does making sure the rest of your spices aren't stale!
Feel free to add honey to taste -- I used 3 tablespoons, but it all depends on the dryness of the wine and how sweet you like your mulled wine.
Once the wine has steeped for 15 to 20 minutes, it's time to add the brandy. Once you've added it, you don't want to reheat the wine too much, or you'll lose the flavor -- and the alcohol...
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Author Notes: I'm a lightweight when it comes to booze, and I'll be the first to admit that my interpretation of a "hot toddy" is a little loose. My husband loves Glühwein (German/Austrian mulled wine), but he prefers drinking white wine to red, so for this contest I decided to experiment with a white mulled wine, amped up with pear brandy. I infused the wine with cardamom and star anise, which I thought would go nicely with the white wine, as well as the more traditional triumvirate of cinnamon, ginger and cloves. To amplify the pear flavor, I added a slice of Asian pear to each drink as a garnish -- the pear softens slightly as it absorbs the warm booze and makes for a yummy treat once you've sipped the last of the wine. - Merrill - merrill
Serves 4
- 1 750 ml bottle dry or off-dry white wine (preferably Riesling or Grüner Veltliner)
- 1 piece star anise
- 2 1/4-inch slices fresh ginger
- 3 green cardamom pods
- 3 whole cloves
- 3 to 4 tablespoons honey, or to taste
- 1/4 cup pear brandy (Poire William)
- 1 Asian pear
- Put the wine in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan with the star anise, ginger, cardamom, cloves and honey (start with 3 tablespoons and adjust later if necessary). Set the pan over medium heat and bring just to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and let the wine mull for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
- Taste the wine and add more honey if you’d like. Gently reheat the wine until it starts to steam, then turn off the heat and stir in the brandy. Divide among 4 mugs or heatproof glasses, putting a few of the spices in each glass if you’d like, and add a slice of Asian pear. Toddy away!
- A & M's Annual Smackdown / Your Best Hot Toddy Contest Winner!
Tags: entertaining, Holidays
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7 months ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Serving this on T-Day when we return from our hike! Will make it that morning so all we have to do is warm it up. Oh heck! What am I thinking??! I'm bringing this in a thermos to sip when we reach the top of Mt. Tamalpais. Cannot think of anything more pleasant than enjoying the expansive views of the Pacific, the Golden Gate, San Francisco and Stinson Beach with this in hand. Perhaps with some of that ginger molasses pumpkin bread for nibbling . . . We do know how to live, now, don't we.. ;o)
over 1 year ago dianarose
This was a huge hit for my boyfriend's birthday! I added a tiny bit more ginger and more than a tiny bit more booze :-)
over 1 year ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
Happy birthday to him! Glad you enjoyed it.
over 1 year ago Jain Silver
Made this last night and loved how pretty it is with the star anise floating in the drink! Have to confess that I doubled the amount of brandy :) Thought the riesling would be too sweet but it was the perfect choice. Definately going into my rotation as this is versatile enough to be made into a sangria (a nod to the Florida "winter") as well.
over 1 year ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
Glad you liked it, and great adjustment! ;)
over 1 year ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Such a fun, tasty drink! We enjoyed it with Fig and Blue Cheese Savouries this afternoon. ;o)
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Congrats Merrill! Lovely drink for these cold & frigid days ahead!
over 2 years ago gingerroot
Cheers, Merrill! Over the holidays I discovered a lovely bottle of Riesling in the depths of my wine fridge - looking forward to trying this with it!
over 2 years ago TheWimpyVegetarian
Bought some pear brandy today! I have an event tomorrow, but am looking forward to making this afterwards when I can kick back and put my feet up :-). I too am a lightweight when it comes to anything outside wine and beer, so this is perfect for me.
over 2 years ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
Thanks, guys, for your great comments and your support! I couldn't have done it without you.
over 2 years ago BubbaQ
I'm wondering if you could do double-duty with this and poach some whole pears in it for dessert... or would that cook off too much of the alcohol?
over 2 years ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
Hmm. The only thing is that it doesn't have much sugar in it, and usually poaching liquid for pears is pretty heavy on the sugar.
over 2 years ago hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.
This drink is delicious! I'm somewhat ashamed to say my husband and I polished off an entire batch. Cheers!
over 2 years ago betteirene
I couldn't make this before the voting deadline. Here in WA, there are no private liquor stores; the are all "owned" by the state. The liquor store in the town I live in is, I am not joking, 20'x20' so only the most popular brands and types of liquor are sold here. I didn't give myself enough time to special order it, so my local store won't have it until Friday. Or I could make an hour-and-a-half round trip to a liquor store in Seattle. I'm so bummed.
over 2 years ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
There's always time for a hot toddy!
over 2 years ago sabina
We had this on NYE and it was perfect. Thanks for the great recipe Merrill.
over 2 years ago ChefJune
could you use a pear other than Asian? and if so, what would that be?
over 2 years ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
Any firm-ish pear would do nicely. I think a Bartlett would work particularly well.
over 2 years ago Midge
This is my kind of toddy, Merrill. Love the Asian pear addition.
over 2 years ago sabina
oooh, I have a bottle of asian poire wiliam that needs an inaugural pour. this looks great.
over 2 years ago Sasha (Global Table Adventure)
Cheers! Looks wonderful :)
over 2 years ago pauljoseph
Yes look fabulous
over 2 years ago gingerroot
Mmm...love the flavors here, sounds really delicious. Thanks for a lovely recipe.
over 2 years ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
Thanks, everyone, for your lovely comments. Cheers to a great 2011!
over 2 years ago hummingbirdap
I'm a lightweight, too. Anything with Asian pear, ginger and cardamom, I have to try!