Negus. Ah mulled wine. I used to manage a wine store on the Upper West Side that featured all New York State wines. Around the holidays we would start mulling first thing, and it would be ready by the time the bar opened. I never knew what mulled wine was before I worked there and, to be honest, I didn’t love it.

But this is not the recipe we used there. This is negus, and it’s far superior.

Negus is best done nice and slow. That way you can coax all the flavor out of your aromatics and create a true depth of flavor. A lot of people use a crockpot, or slow cooker, which is ideal. This way you do not have to baby it. You can essentially set it and forget it. But don’t worry if you don’t have one. I don’t, and it’s not a necessity. 6 hours of mulling might seem like a lot, but trust me, negus is worth it.

 

 

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NEGUS

Ingredients

  • 1 bottle Port
  • 6 g cloves
  • 5 g licorice stick
  • 8 g coriander
  • 6 g all spice
  • 2 oranges 1 for zest, 1 for garnish
  • 120 g sugar
  • 20 g dried cherries
  • 10 juniper berries
  • 3 star anise
  • 25 g fresh ginger

Instructions

  1. First bring your Porto to a boil. Skin and reduce to a slow simmer.
  2. Add you sugar and fully incorporate.
  3. Once sugar is fully incorporated add all aromatics and cook slowly for 6 hours.
  4. Strain all aromatics.
  5. Pick out the dried cherries and serve at the bottom of the glass.
  6. Garnish with a fresh orange peel.