Name: Swedish Glögg
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: Swedish
Ingredients: 3 cinnamon sticks, broken in half; 12 whole cloves; 8 green cardamom pods, broken and seeds collected or a scant teaspoon of cardamom seeds; 1 750 ml bottle of inexpensive red wine (see notes); 1 750 ml bottle inexpensive ruby port wine such as Offley Ruby Porto; 2 cups brandy such as Felipe II; 1/2 cup light brown sugar; The peel of two oranges, divided; 1 cup whole blanched almonds, optional garnish; 1 cup sweetened dried cherries or dark seedless raisins, optional garnish; Orange peel (from above), to garnish

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Swedish Glögg is the ultimate festive warming holiday drink. It's easy to make and a delight for holiday gatherings. Here's my favorite way to make it.

snowflake mugs filled with Swedish Glögg. delicious hot spiced mulled wine and spirits

What is Glögg?

Glögg (pronounce the "ö" like the "oo" in foot) is red wine and spirits, sugared, spiced, simmered ('mulled') and served hot, usually with raisins and almonds added.

Drinking glögg is Christmas tradition in Sweden and Finland (where they call it Gloggi). There's no better potion for warming up body and spirit on a dark winter day!

Swedish Glögg - The Recipe

If you turn to the web in search of the ultimate Swedish Glögg recipe, you'll find so many variations it's almost dizzying.

No two glögg recipes are the same. Some recipes call for Aquavit, some call for brandy. Still others include vo dka. You will even find glögg recipe that recommends dousing sugar cubes in brandy and lighting them on fire in order to get a caramelized sugar flavoring into the mix.

But despite all the variations, at the heart of every glögg recipe is red wine, and and it doesn't have to be an expensive bottle because the sugar, spices and additional spirits add plenty of richness and flavor.

Looking down into a glass of Swedish glogg with a swirl of orange zest, blanched almond, dried cherries and cinnamon stick on the counter around it.

My One and Only Swedish Glögg recipe

After copious amounts of research and recipe testing (challenging my alcohol tolerance), I landed on this perfect mix of wine, port and brandy, infused with the traditional cinnamon-clove-cardamom spices and orange peel - pleasantly potent and enchantingly delicious.

Once you try this Glögg recipe, you'll understand why this drink is so popular in Sweden during the Christmas season and you'll want to make this for your next holiday party.

The flavors are rich, spicy and enchanting
This glögg goes down smooth and has the perfect potency for a festive occasion
When Glögg simmers on the stove it sends scents of cinnamon, cardamom and clove wafting through the house, signaling to the senses that something special awaits
After the last swig of Glögg, the fun continues with wine-soaked goodies at the bottom of the glass

wooden cutting board topped with a piece of cheesecloth, an orange that has been zested. the orange zest, a few cinnamon stick, some cardamom pods, whole cloves and a piece of kitchen twine

Here's what you'll need to make this recipe

A bottle of inexpensive dry red wine - such as Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cote Du Rhone or Merlot
A bottle of inexpensive ruby port wine
2 cups brandy - such as Felipe II
The peel of two oranges - for a festive garnish, use a citrus zester that makes strips
½ cup light brown sugar
Whole spices - cinnamon sticks, cloves and cardamom pods
Garnishes - almonds and dried cherries or dark seedless raisins - Raisins and almonds are a traditional garnish for Glögg but I tested sweetened sour cherries in place of raisins and I won't go back. They are the bomb!

How To Make Swedish Glögg

This is just a recipe overview; you will find the full ingredients and directions in the recipe card towards the bottom of this post.

Make a spice pouch: Wrap cardamom seeds, cinnamon sticks and cloves in cheese cloth and tie tightly with twine.
Simmer: In a large pot combine wine, port, brandy, spice pouch, sugar and the peel of one orange. Heat gently, on low, for at least 20 minutes or up to an hour. The longer it steeps, the better. However never allow glögg it to boil or the alcohol will burn off.

Dutch oven filled with Swedish glogg, gloggi next to a slate serving board topped with three decorative glass mugs filled with glog and a few cinnamon sticks and some dried cherries and almonds

How To Serve Glögg

The traditional way to serve glögg is in a glass mug with a handle so you can see the rich burgundy color and enjoy sipping this piping hot beverage without burning your hands.

Place a few almonds and a few dried cherries in the mug and pour the hot glögg on top. Add a piece of orange peel and serve hot, with spoons for eating the wine-soaked fruit and nuts at the bottom of the mug.

glogg being poured from a ladle into a glass

Glögg tastes a little too good

I really enjoyed experimenting with this recipe. For several days I started sipping Swedish glögg sometimes as early as two or three in the afternoon which, by the way, is about when the sun sets in Sweden in December.

I hope you'll forgive me if my photos look a little fuzzier than usual 🙂 Every delicious sip of Swedish glögg is a robust, spicy, warming treat. In fact, this drink is so smooth and enjoyable, you need to keeping reminding yourself that you're drinking an alcoholic beverage.

Glass snowflake-decorated mugs filled with hot spiced mulled wine, surrounded by cinnamon sticks and blanched almonds

If you're looking for more festive holiday dishes, be sure to try Swedish Hassleback potatoes.

This is an updated post which I first shared in December of 2015. It has been revised with helpful information added to the written post and clearer instructions and helpful notes added to the recipe card.

Here's the Swedish glögg recipe. Skål! (cheers!) If you try this recipe I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!

Recipe

Swedish Glögg

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.8 from 4 reviews

Author: Lisa Goldfinger
Total Time: 45 mins
Yield: 10-12 1x

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Description

Swedish Glögg is hot spiced mulled wine that's popular in Scandinavia during the Christmas season. It's a wonderful warming drink to serve during the Winter holidays.

Ingredients

Units Scale

Equipment: A double thick piece of cheesecloth about 4 inches square and a small piece of kitchen twine

3 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
12 whole cloves
8 green cardamom pods, broken and seeds collected or a scant teaspoon of cardamom seeds
1 750 ml bottle of inexpensive red wine (see notes)
1 750 ml bottle inexpensive ruby port wine such as Offley Ruby Porto
2 cups brandy such as Felipe II
½ cup light brown sugar
The peel of two oranges, divided
1 cup whole blanched almonds, optional garnish
1 cup sweetened dried cherries or dark seedless raisins, optional garnish
Orange peel (from above), to garnish

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Instructions

Wrap the cardamom seeds, cinnamon sticks and cloves in cheese cloth and tie tightly with twine to make a spice pouch.
In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven combine the wine, port, brandy, spice pouch, sugar and the peel of one orange. Simmer very gently for at least 20 minutes and up to two hours. The longer it steeps, the better. However, never allow it to boil or the alcohol will burn off.
To serve, put a few almonds and a few dried cherries in a mug. Pour the hot glögg on top. Add a piece of orange peel to garnish. Serve hot with spoons for eating the wine-soaked fruit and nuts.

Notes

Here's how To collect seeds from cardamom pods: place the flat side of a wide knife on top of a pod and hit the top flat of the knife with the heel of your hand (carefully). Remove the little black seeds.

When choosing a wine for glögg, look for a bottle of inexpensive dry red wine - such as Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cote Du Rhone or Merlot.

Serve glögg in mugs with handles, so people can enjoy sipping this piping hot beverage without burning their hands.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Category: Drink
Method: simmer (mull)
Cuisine: Swedish

Swedish Glögg: Hot Mulled Spiced Wine