Food & Drink

Swe-Dishes (And Drinks): Alewife’s Glögg

‘Tis the season for celebrating family and friends, holiday feasts, gift-giving and warming up with our favorite holiday libation, glögg.

This year, Alewife in Richmond, Va., created the Scandinavian favorite for its holiday menu. And luckily, for those who are too far away to dine in at the restaurant, the team kindly shared the recipe. We hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 bottles dry red wine
• 1 bottle sweet white wine
• 1 lemon
• 1 orange
• 10 cloves
• 5 star anise pods
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 inch fresh ginger
• 1 c. of golden raisins
• 1 c. blanched almonds
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 tbsp. bitters
• 1 c. aquavit or vodka (optional)

Directions

• Combine wines in a large saucepan.
• Peel lemon, orange and ginger. Slice ginger.
• Squeeze fruits through a fine-mesh strainer and add juice to wine. Discard pulp.
• Tie lemon peel, orange peel, ginger and spices in cheesecloth to create a sachet.
• Add sachet, raisins, almonds and sugar to wine and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until almonds soften and glögg tastes integrated.
• Add any additional sugar necessary and skim and foam from the top.
• Strain and reserve almonds and raisins for garnish.
• Add bitters and aquavit.
• Ladle glögg into insulated mugs.
• Skewers raisins an almonds and lay across the glass for easy snacking.

This recipe was crafted by Katy Best, the beverage director at Alewife. She recommends storing the glögg in a crockpot on low and adding bitters and aquavit just before serving. She also has a passion for the Scandinavian spirit aquavit and has created cocktails for Umgås like the Electric Jellyfish and Crystal Vision.