Rustle Up This Mulled Cider Recipe & Stay Cosy Through Chilly Nights

With autumn in full swing, the trees blazing in shades of amber and the air carrying a brisk chill, it’s time at last to embrace the art of the winter warmer. These drinks, rich with aromatic spices and deep flavours, evoke comfort and nostalgia, wrapping you up in a seasonal glow – all just in time for Halloween and Bonfire Night, when they really come into their own.



Whether it’s a pot of mulled cider bubbling away on the stove or a mug of chai laced with warming whisky, these recipes will not only heat your bones but also fill your home with the scent of the season itself. All that’s left is to light a fire and settle in.

Sandford Orchards’ Mulled Cider Recipe

Nothing hits the spot like a good spicy mulled cider. We love this recipe from Sandford Orchards, which is lent an extra punch with a glug or two of Calvados. The perfect Bonfire Night concoction.

Ingredients

- 1.5 litres of a premium cider such as Sandford Orchards’ Devon Red or Devon Mist
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- Zest of 1 orange
- A clove studded apple
- 1 Tbsp Allspice
- 2 star anise
- 75g brown sugar
- 400ml apple juice
- A glug or two of Calvados
- For the garnish: a few slices of fresh orange or apple and some ground cinnamon

Method

- Place all the ingredients in a large pan and heat gently for 30 minutes
- Be careful not to cook the cider for too long because that will cause it to lose its fruity flavour and zip
- Never heat past the serving temperature and be as gentle as possible during the cooking process (simmer don’t boil)
- Serve with an orange or apple slice garnish and a sprinkling of cinnamon on the rim of the glass

The Best Of The Rest

Spiced Clementine Mulled Whisky

BBC Good Food


We’re deep in the season for mainlining oranges, satsumas and clementines. And, with temperatures tumbling, what better moment than this to warm up with a cocktail of whiskey, ginger beer, honey, cloves, allspice and clementine juice? Wholesome and sublime. Get the recipe.

Hot Buttered Rum

Delish


There is something faintly Harry Potter about this recipe – it feels as if it should be consumed while enclosed within the walls of a pleasingly wonky medieval pub. Sugary, cinnamon-infused and buttered, this rum and apple cider melange, heated just so, will get us through many a long winter night to come. Get the recipe.

Whisky Chai

Food & Wine


If you want to pep up your teatime spread, try whipping up this boozy rendition, which is infused with rye whisky and milk along with a medley of cockle-warming spices: cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Just the thing to slurp while cosied up with a book by the hearth. Get the recipe.

Photo © Fredrika Stjärnes