What is the best Non-Alcoholic alternative to Mulled Wine?

Mulled wine, a classic amongst the United Kingdom to celebrate the festive period. With it’s unique spicy taste, it’s ideal for drinking when you are outside in the cold winter days, attending festive activities such as Christmas markets and festivals. But the question is, can this iconic drink be matched when it comes to its taste? We believe it can.

In this article, we will be briefly looking at the history of mulled wine and diving into our favourite non-alcoholic alternatives which we feel will bring all the non-drinkers back into that festive feeling.

Why is Mulled Wine and Mulled Cider so popular?

The invention of this festive serve dates back as far as the year 20 AD, which puts it directly at the center of the Roman Empire. Still to this day, you can’t attend a Christmas festival or market without smelling the sweet scent of this cocktail. At the time it was first created it used to go by the name Conditum Paradoxum. Thankfully, they changed the name to Mulled Wine down the line, we find it way more catchy.

This serve was made from red wine, added honey, dates and spices such as pepper, laurel and saffron. Which is not much different to the recipe we follow nowadays.

Mulled cider is similar in the fact that it’s a warm or hot drink which is usually made from apple juice or cider. Made with similar ingredients and spices, you will typically find an orange zest in this mixture, adding to the delicious layers of flavour.

Whilst this is a fan favourite around Christmas time, it leaves out all the non-drinkers around this time of year. Yes, mulled wine and cider are both cooked, but 85% of the alcohol still manages to survive this process, meaning that the drink content is fairly high – not to mention the chance of hangovers.

Our alternative to Mulled Wine: Mulled Booch Recipe

You heard it here first…We’re putting a spin on mulled wine this year with a REAL Kombucha festive recipe, which is the perfect non-alcoholic alternative to the classic mulled wine.

For the ingredients, you will need:

• 2 bottles of REAL Kombucha Royal Flush
• 2 teaspoons of demerara sugar
• Zest of 1/4 of a lemon or 3-4 vertical shavings off a medium lemon
• 6 bruised green cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick/ and or star anise.

Then to start cooking:

• Add the two bottles of Royal Flush to the pan and bring to a boil
• Add the demerara sugar, lemon zest, 6 cardamom pods, and a 1" piece of cinnamon stick
• Steep for at least 20 minutes to let the flavours round out 
• Remove the ingredients so you don't overwhelm the drink
• Serve in a glass and garnish with lemon

There is now no excuse to bring back all of the non-drinkers to your Christmas party with a serve this mouth-watering. You can always add more sugar to this mix if you like your cocktails a little bit sweeter, but one bit of advice we would give, would be to go easy on the cinnamon! It’s very easy to add way too much of this spice to your serve. We suggest adding only a small amount and then adding to taste.

Our other favourite Non-Alcoholic Christmas Cocktails

You know us Brits, it wouldn’t be Christmas without a glass of Buck’s Fizz. With our non-alcoholic alternative, Citrus Buck’s Fizz, you can get the party started even earlier and not worry about that dreaded afternoon hangover.