Hot Spiced Grape Drink: Archive Recipe and Safety
In cool weather, a hot spiced drink can be pleasant to make. This archive idea begins with grape juice: it can be served without alcohol, or the base can be divided and a separate adult version made. It is a culinary drink, not a treatment.
The archive note suggests cinnamon sticks, allspice, thyme, cloves, dried elderberries or blackcurrants, and citrus zest. To taste, you can add bay leaves, thin slices of fresh ginger, mint, thyme, or lemon balm.
Gently heat slightly diluted grape juice with the spices, zest, and berries for about 20–25 minutes. Keep an eye on the pan and serve only after the drink has cooled to a safe sipping temperature: hot liquid can burn.
The alcohol-free base can be sweetened to taste. Do not give honey to children under 12 months. If adults add wine or brandy to a separate serving, it remains an adult-only drink: alcohol is unsuitable in pregnancy, when driving, and in some situations involving medicines or medical conditions. If coffee is included, remember that it contains caffeine and consider who will be served and in what amount. Heating or simmering does not make an alcoholic drink alcohol-free and should not be used for that purpose.
I love mulled wine, but all those spices floating around the pan in sticks and bits irritate me a little )) So I use a simple trick: I tie the herbs and other small pieces into a piece of cheesecloth. At the end, I can lift it out and leave the drink clear.