Wassail

• servings: 10 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1 teaspoon whole allspice

1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled, sliced

8 cups apple cider, (preferably unfiltered)

2 cups unsweetened black tea

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup fresh lemon juice, (from 2 lemons)

1 cup fresh orange juice, (from 3 medium oranges)

2 cinnamon sticks

Bourbon, Brandy, or Rum, for serving (optional)

Directions

Make the wassail.

Using a coffee filter and cooking twine or a piece of cheesecloth, tie up the cloves, allspice and ginger into a little bundle. Alternatively, you can make the wassail with the spices directly in the pot and strain them out with a fine-mesh sieve after step 2.

Steep the wassail.

In a large pot set over high heat, add the apple cider, tea, brown sugar, lemon juice, orange juice, cinnamon sticks and spice bundle and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour.

Serve.

Discard the spice packet. Spike with bourbon, brandy or rum if desired (We suggest 1 ounce of alcohol per 6 ounces of wassail). Serve warm.

Nutrition

• Calories: 128
• Total Fat: 0 g
• Saturated Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Sodium: 11 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 32 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1 g
• Total Sugars: 27 g
• Protein: 0 g