Lower East Side Glögg

Author Notes

Let’s face it: The holidays are exhausting. Granted, they can also be tremendous fun, but even that “fun” usually requires a fair bit of work: travel, shopping, cooking, cleaning…even the actual fun stuff can be super draining. Who hasn’t spent an extra few hours in the morning after nursing the after-effects of too much revelry? (I’ve even had debilitating muscle soreness from laughing too much.)

All of this is to say that we owe ourselves a bit of rejuvenation and re-energizing every once and a while, and so I created this fully-non-alcoholic and moderately caffeinated drink to keep in your holiday arsenal.

Glögg is a northern European (mostly Swedish) mulled wine made with spices infused into a spirit like aquavit or brandy, which is then mixed with red wine and served with chunks of fruit and nuts and served ubiquitously throughout the holiday season. I was hard-pressed to find a zero-proof version, so I made one myself. Rather than wine, I used Proteau Ludlow Red, which is one member of the line of zero-proof botanical drinks that I created using the overlapping culinary traditions of the Lower East Side as inspiration.

Ludlow Red comes pre-packed with botanicals like roasted dandelion root, black pepper, licorice, and chamomile, but for this recipe I turned the dial to 11. Adding in traditional glögg spices like cinnamon, vanilla, and orange zest, I also dropped in some less traditional elements like persimmon and Grade B maple syrup (now called Grade A Dark Color & Robust flavor). The real kicker is the cold brew coffee, which is something I learned from my husband, Michael, who regularly combines coffee and Ludlow Red for a late Friday afternoon pre-happy hour pick me up.

This drink might seem a little chaotic at first, but one sip and you’ll see why this is a perfect match for the holiday season. —John deBary