This post was made in partnership with Truvia®. Recipes and ideas are my own.
I’m hitting peak holiday tradition time right around now. The advent calendar has been going, there’s a tree and decorations and now due to small children’s insistence there’s a second small tree, I’ve sent out Christmas cards, and the majority of the presents have been bought (can you tell I’m a planner??). I’ve also checked off attending the annual Glögg party thrown by some close friends of ours. They’ve been throwing it for close to a decade now and we’ve been attending almost every year (minus a few bouts of the flu). But I’ve kept a secret… I’m not a big fan of hot wine punch.
After reading this my secret will be blown. But, since we’re all friends, I doubt they’ll care all that much. They know I really come for the Swedish meatballs. Are you sitting there reading this thinking to yourself “I like wine, I like spices, but I don’t necessarily want them piping hot…” Well, lucky for you great minds think alike and I’ve got a new twist for your holiday mulled wine traditions!
I’ve teamed up with Truvia® to offer a chilled spin on this traditional holiday drink. The secret to achieving a flavorful mulled wine cocktail is to concentrate the flavors that would ordinarily go into a mulled wine by making a syrup.
For the base I decided to use Truvia Cane Sugar Blend to first create a simple syrup and then add in the mulled wine spices and the wine itself. Truvia Cane Sugar Blend combines stevia sweetener and cane sugar with 75% fewer calories per serving than sugar. Does it make a simple syrup that works just like regular cane sugar? It sure does! Because it is sweeter than cane sugar you also don’t need to add as much into the syrup. After making a quick simple syrup, everything simmers together to make a reduction and extracts those great spices so they really stand out when mixed into a drink. Also, chilling liquids tends to tame the flavors a bit so you want the flavors to be on the bold side.
Since we’re making this into a cocktail I decided to pair this mulled wine syrup with bourbon for a wintery drink. Bourbon imparts some vanilla and buttery caramel flavors into the mix as well. Finally, a burst of citrus comes from freshly squeezed lemon juice and Cointreau. How to garnish is up to you. If you want it to be reminiscent of a Glögg, add in a cinnamon stick, orange slices and a star anise when you serve up the drink. You could also leave all of this out and you’d be fine. Personally I like the aroma that fresh spices add to the drink, but if you’re serving this up at a party you could also just throw in the orange slices. And speaking of parties! This syrup makes enough for plenty of drinks so you might want to consider this for a different take when you host your next holiday party.
One last note. I realize I might be edging out some of you that really enjoy a hot mulled wine. Clearly my friends do since they host this party every year. Here’s a quick tip so you can enjoy a glass of Glögg any time: you can make this drink hot too. Yes! You don’t have to wait for someone to throw a party and use up several bottles of wine and occupy your InstaPot for an entire day. Make the syrup, add the ingredients, and add in some hot water! You’ve got a hot mulled wine cocktail now!
Grab a bottle of wine and let’s make some cocktails!
Truvia Chilled Mulled Wine Cocktail (with Hot Version too!)
Mulled Wine Syrup (Yields 1-1/3 to 1-1/2 cups)
1 cup Truvia Cane Sugar Blend
1 cup water
1-1/2 cups red wine
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise pods
6 cloves
4 green cardamom pods, cracked
1 tsp black peppercorns, lightly crushed
4 orange slices, 1/4†thick
For the syrup:
Combine Truvia Cane Sugar Blend and water in a medium saucepan over medium- high heat. Whisk until fully dissolved. Add in red wine, cinnamon sticks, star anise pods, cloves, green cardamom pods, black peppercorns and orange slices. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 30-40 minutes or until mixture has reduced and thickened slightly. Remove from heat, strain out solids and discard them. Let syrup cool to room temperature and then transfer to an airtight container like a swing-top bottle or mason jar. Store refrigerated up to a month.
For the drink:
2 ounces of bourbon
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 ounce Cointreau
1 ounce mulled wine syrup
In a shaker 2/3 filled with ice, combine the bourbon, lemon juice, Cointreau and mulled wine syrup. Shake about 20 seconds to combine and strain over fresh ice into a double rocks glass. Garnish with orange slices, cinnamon stick and star anise.
Alternatively, you can make this a hot drink by including 2-3 ounces of hot water. Combine all ingredients for the cold cocktail in a heat proof mug and then add hot water. Stir gently to combine and serve.
Today I bring you a weekend cocktail. A festive, fir tree scented drink you can sip on as you bake cookies, or wrap gifts, or use as a palate cleanser between licking all those damn holiday cards you still haven’t got out in the mail yet.
Yes! You might be familiar with eau de vie spirits made from fruit, but there is one that is made from pine buds. I have three favorite scents in this world: lilac, wood smoke, and fir trees. So the first time I saw this brandy I went absolutely nuts over it and immediately started making drinks (see 
For this drink, stick with a dry or extra dry vermouth, you want a little less residual sugar in there so that the fir tree aroma and flavor stands out. This is on the slightly less bitter side than a classic Negroni, as Bitter Bianco is used, which adds some citrus and delicate floral notes that really work with the pine forest effect of the eau de vie.
Totally optional, but I had a lot of fun garnishing the drink with what looked like snowy tree branches. If you’re trying to impress guests and want a festive garnish, go ahead and add these to the drink. It’s just powdered sugar and rosemary. I’ve made a note on making these following the recipe. Keep in mind though that rosemary imparts its own strong aroma, which can work here, but I would present the drink with the garnish and then remove before imbibing.
Fir-Groni Cocktail
To make the “snowy branches”, take a cleaned rosemary sprig and coat lightly with egg whites using a silicone pastry brush. Shake off any excess liquid and immediately dip into a shallow bowl filled with about a 1/4″ of powdered sugar. Swirl the rosemary sprig around to coat and let dry. Once dry, use a garnish on your cocktail. Also looks cute on a some baked cake!
This post is brought to you by Specialty Retailers, Inc. Recipes and ideas are my own.
Today I’m taking part in 
We still have two whole weeks until Christmas and who knows how many parties we’ll be going to or hosting up to then. If you’re in charge of drinks, Stages has all the accessories you need to make prepping and decorating easy! We did a quick shopping trip online to get all our gear for our virtual party including glasses, those cute gold foil holiday napkins, a caddy to hold the napkins and straws, a chalkboard sign to write out the name of our Signature Cocktail, the containers to store the rosemary sugar, a dipping tray for all the ingredients for the Cranberry Sauce Margaritas, as well as some festive decorations like this teeny tiny lights and the nutcracker. Even my holiday sweater came from there! SO MANY GREAT ENTERTAINING OPTIONS.
The recipe for the Cranberry Sauce Margaritas has just a touch of sweetness in it from the cranberry sauce and the Grand Marnier. You can adjust going up or down with either to your liking. I also think adding just a touch of the rosemary sugar into the drink doesn’t hurt either, just remember to shake it really well to combine it all! TIP: use the spent lime wedges from the cocktail recipe to help rim the glasses. Then you won’t need to waste additional lime wedges just for rimming. Also, when rimming your glass, use a shallow bowl or rimmed plate and push the sugar out towards the edges so that the sugar will evenly coat around the glass.
Cranberry Sauce Margaritas
Rosemary Sugar
This post is brought to you by Beaujolais Wines. Recipes and ideas are my own.
If the idea of hosting a holiday cookie decorating party makes your palms sweat (I need how many cookies?!?!), even with a glass of wine, just hold on, because I’ve got some tips and tricks that will make this party a breeze!
1. First, let’s talk about the wine. While you might think Beaujolais wine is best served slightly chilled in the summertime, it’s actually a great wine to have around the cooler winter months too. That’s because it goes well with just about anything; including cookies. If you’re thinking ahead towards all your holiday meals this month, try picking up a case to have on hand. Serve it at meals and keep a bottle handy for the random relative who stops by unannounced! And if you can, try and get a mixed case. That’s right! Beaujolais comes in 
2. Cookies. You have a couple options here when it comes to the cookies.
3. Decorations. With endless possibilities for decorating, limit yourself to just a few ideas. You’ll end up with less waste and won’t have a pantry full of half used sprinkles and sanding sugar to deal with the rest of the year. For my cookie party, I made one batch of royal icing and put scoops into smaller piping bags and mixed a few colors right in the bag. Again, if you haven’t the time to make icing, guess what? You 
4. Plan your stations. Short on space? No kitchen table? No problem. Set up a cookie decorating space where people will have access to cookies, plates, napkins, and bowls for putting decorations in. Don’t forget the wine glasses and wine tags too! A kitchen counter is a great setup. I have a long buffet at home that people could grab everything they needed. Not enough room at the kitchen table? Set up a cozy holiday blanket on the floor for everyone to spread out on. Remember to tell guests to bring slippers!
5. Packing it up. After all the fun your guests will have decorating cookies and celebrating the season with a glass of Beaujolais, remember to have containers ready for guests to bring their cookies home in. This could be as simple as a 
Gingerbread Cookies and Icing Recipe
Royal Icing
This post was made in partnership with Kerrygold Irish Cream Liqueur. Recipe and ideas are my own.
While making these cookies I thought about how great the baking spices would be in a cocktail. Sure, we see lots of dashes of cinnamon or nutmeg this time of year, but those in combination with an intense ginger flavor…well we’ve got a perfect pair for some whiskey and a hot cocktail. I refer to these heated cocktails during holiday time as winter warm ups. They’re a great companion to a fireplace and a pair of hands in need of warmth.
This month I’ve teamed up with 
After making this cocktail I need to rethink my gingerbread recipe and add a little chocolate and whiskey and there too now. Then it will be perfect.
Let’s get warmed up!
