Easy Mulled Cider Recipe
The smell of cinnamon, apples and other spices … mulled cider is a perfect wintry drink that can fill your home with an amazing smell too. In this blog post, we provide an easy mulled cider recipe so you can make your own delicious mulled cider at home in no time.
This mulled cider is made with alcoholic cider. If you’re looking for an alcohol-free version, you can swap the alcoholic cider for apple juice.
Also read on below if you’re looking for ciders to use for your easy mulled cider recipe at home. Most of the organic ciders we sell are English-made and they are all indeed 100% organic too.
First off – what is mulled cider?
We thought we’d give you a quick history and explanation of mulled cider. Mulled cider as a beverage dates back hundreds of years in England. Since apples are grown in abundance here, apple cider has always been much cheaper and more available than wine. Made with mulling spices like cinnamon and ginger, mulled ale was also drunk in historical times too.
Mulled cider is basically a hot apple cider drink that’s been simmered with a variety of spices to give it smooth and warming wintry flavours. A delicious beverage to enjoy for a cosy night in, it also makes for an amazing party drink as well.
Easy Mulled Cider Recipe
Mulled cider ingredients:
- 1 litre (=2 500ml bottles) of organic apple cider of choice (we have plenty to pick from)
- 50 ml organic brandy, organic rum or organic whisky (optional)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 star anise
Mulled cider instructions:
- Combine all the above ingredients in a large saucepan.
- Stir over a low heat for 10-15 minutes, making sure it doesn’t boil.
- Remove from heat, transfer to a serving bowl if you like and ladle into mugs or glass mugs.
A few notes:
- Some people prefer to use dryer cider, but if you prefer a sweeter cider than go ahead and use that. If using a dry cider, you can also add about 50-75g of brown sugar to the above recipe to make it sweeter.
- You can be flexible with the spices: other mulling spices include ginger, cardomom, allspice berries, nutmeg, etc.
- Mulling spice sachets are available in most supermarkets – these can be dropped into the pot and make things a little easier. According to Susie Dunkerton of Dunkertons cider, use one sachet per one litre of cider.
- You can also cover with a lid after this is done to let the spices seep a bit more. When you are ready to enjoy, just reheat and serve.
- You can also add sliced oranges or apples for some extra fruit flavours.
- Whole cinnamon sticks, cloves and star anise make wonderful garnishes.
- The addition of rum/brandy/whisky is optional, some do like thier ciders with more of a kick.
- Like we said above, for an alcohol-free version of mulled cider, simply replace the alcoholic cider with apple juice.
If you’re hosting a larger gathering, you might enjoy the slow cooker cider recipe at the bottom of this blog post here.
Organic Ciders for Mulled Cider
We thought we’d also provide examples of organic ciders that you can use to make mulled cider. These ciders all come in 500ml size (=1/2 a litre).
South Hams Vintage Organic Cider is a beautiful sparkling apple cider made using at least 15 varieties of apples harvested from South Devon orchards. It also was the overall winner of the 2023 Soil Association BOOM (Best of Organic Market) Awards.
£3.29
River Cottage makes wonderful organic ciders in Herefordshire and Devon as well. Try an organic cider recipe with their Vintage Cider, Bold Oak Cider or their Yarlington Mill Cider for a unique-tasting cider at home.
£3.30
Next up is Dunkertons, who make a range of excellent organic ciders in Herefordshire. Try their lower alcohol (5%) Craft Cider, Premium Organic Cider or Black Fox Cider … all would be excellent for making easy mulled cider at home.
£3.75
For a dry cider from Dunkerton’s, try their sharp full-bodied Dry Organic Cider.
£3.75
Also in Herefordshire, Henry Westons Organic Cider is a good choice and good value too at £2.85/bottle. It’s made using top-quality cider apples and matured in old oak vats for a great flavour.
£2.85
If you’re looking to buy a collection of ciders, try our Cider Sipping Box, which contains 3x four sparkling organic ciders from four English cider makers.
£38.00
We hope you enjoy this easy mulled cider recipe. If you make this at home, we’d love to know how it turns out.
Why drink organic cider?
Organic cider is made from organically grown apples, which means they aren’t sprayed with synthetic chemicals that can be dangerous to our health, the orchard trees and plants, our soils and waterways, and orchard workers too. Organic cider is the ultimate choice if you’re looking for the most environmentally friendly and clean cider.
Browse all organic ciders here.
Sign up for £5 off your first order here.
