As you are planning your dinner party schedule this holiday season you may want to consider serving your foodie friends a strong spicy Scandinavian drink known as “Glogg”.   “Glogg” is a traditional Christmas drink, has a high alcohol content and can go quickly to one’s head so be sure to keep that in mind when serving.

It takes approximately 25 minutes to make and the recipe provided usually yields 8 servings.

To make the glogg you will first need to assemble the following ingredients; 1 ½ cups robust red wine, 1 ½ cups ruby port wine, 1 cup vodka, 6 pods of green cardamom, 5 whole cloves, 2 tablespoons grated orange zest, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 ounces slivered almond, and  ½ tablespoon raisins.

Once your ingredients are assembled, combine the wine, port and vodka in a nonreactive pot.   Add cardamom, cloves, orange peel, and cinnamon and gently warm the mixture over a low heat.   Do not let the mixture boil otherwise you will ruin it.   Allow the mixture to steep for at least 20 minutes or more.  The longer it steeps without boiling the better.   Once the mixture is done steeping pour it into heatproof glasses, garnish with almonds and raisins and then serve.