Wassail (Middle English 'wæs hæl' - ‘be you healthy’) refers both to the salute 'Waes Hail' and to the drink of wassail, a hot mulled cider drunk as part of wassailing, an English ritual intended to ensure a good apple harvest the following year.
Historically, the drink is a mulled cider, mulled beer, or mead, made with sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. A group then sings: “Old Apple tree, old apple tree, we've come to wassail thee, To bear and to bow apples enow, Hats full, caps full, three bushel bags full, Barn floors full and a little heap under the stairs.”
For a Gallon Brew: Fill a pot with 1 gallon of red wine or port. Fill spice bag with ⅓ cup of wassail spices. Add spices and ½ cup sugar, and simmer at low heat for 1-2 hours. Serve hot or chilled.
- Three 3 oz muslin spice bags
- Contents: orange peel, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves
- Each bag brews one gallon
- Shelf life: 3 years
- Made in the United States
Wassail Wine Spices by Oliver Pluff & Company
