It’s time to brew some DUNDERGLÖGG, also known as Mulled Wine.

I’ve done this several times before, and it’s difficult to fail. You can experiment as you like, but for your first attempt, I recommend following the original recipe. After the initial try, I suggest adding some fresh sliced oranges with the peel still on.

This year, I’m experimenting with “apple must” (apple juice-ish) instead of svagdricka (a type of Swedish malt beverage). If svagdricka is hard to find outside Sweden, you can substitute it with non-alcoholic beer.

Original Recipe:

• 5 liters of svagdricka (a type of Swedish malt beverage). You can substitute this with non or low-alcohol beer (I’ve tried it and it doesn’t make any notable changes).
• 5 sliced raw potatoes
• 1 packet of baker’s yeast, 50 g
• 1 bag of cloves
• 1 bag of cardamom seeds
• 1 piece of fresh ginger (about 5 cm)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 500 g raisins
• 2.5 kilograms of sugar

Mix everything in a ten-liter bucket, cover it with plastic wrap with small holes in it, and let the brew sit at room temperature for at least three weeks, preferably six. Bottle it into well-cleaned bottles using a siphon, being careful not to include the sediment at the bottom. Heat and enjoy.

Good to know:

• Spices: The measurement of spices is not entirely precise, as you may have noticed. Season to your taste – those who love cinnamon can add an extra stick.

• Alcohol content: The alcohol content of the mulled wine typically ranges between 10 and 15 percent.

• Storage: The mulled wine can be stored for one or two years after bottling, and it should only get better in taste. Eventually, it will oxidize, and you’ll notice it.

• Yeast: I personally recommend using wine yeast. But you can use regular bread yeast, which seems to work excellently. You can try at your own risk with sweet bread yeast or another type. For safety, dissolve the yeast in a little svagdricka separately first.

• Svagdricka: Svagdricka may start appearing on store shelves around this time of year, but sometimes it doesn’t arrive until November. Keep pestering your grocer and remember that svagdricka is sometimes called “Juldricka” (Christmas drink).