It's that time of the year again, cold, snow, wind...Christmas is soon approaching and we all need a bit of help to keep ourselves a bit warm, Germans know how to do that all too well with the help of this delicious Christmas drink, similar to the famous Glühwein but a tad bit stronger.
In Germany is mostly drank on New Year's although can be found in any Weihnachtsmarkt or Christkindlmarkt in the country. It may be a bit more complicated to prepare than most other drinks but the end result is definitely worth it.
You will need:
- 3 bottles of red wine (2-3 liters total)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- cardamom
- allspice
- 1-2 oranges
- 1-2 lemons
- 5 cloves
- 1 German sugar cone (Zuckerhut)
- 1 bottle of rum
The process is as follows:
- In a large pot or kettle filled with red wine, add cinnamon sticks, cardamom, and allspice. Cut up the oranges and lemons (optional: make peel spirals), crush fruit to release the juice, and add to the punch along with the cloves. Warm to a steaming mixture. Do not boil!
- Place a German sugar cone (Zuckerhut, sugar loaf) on a metal rack/screen or clamped in metal tongs above the warm punch. (Substitute sugar cubes if you can't get a Zuckerhut.) Slowly pour high-proof rum over the Zuckerhut or sugar cubes and let soak for a minute. Carefully light the Zuckerhut or sugar cubes and let the flaming sugar carmelize and drip into the punch mix. Add rum as needed to keep the flame going until the Zuckerhut process is done. Serve the punch hot in mugs or hot-tea glasses.
Labels: christmas, cocktails, december, feuerznagenbowle, german drinks, new year's, recipe, recipes, rum, traditional drinks, wine, winter cocktails, winter drinks
