Mulled wine is a particular sort of hot, spiced wine that originally contained beaten eggs or egg yolks. In historic mulled wine recipes, the verb “to mull” occurs in the instructions to describe the characteristic practice of blending the beaten eggs into the heated wine by pouring back and forth between two vessels. Traditional mulled wine uses red wine, with port and claret being especially common. The most typical spices for mulled wine include grated nutmeg, mace, cloves and cinnamon, but you can vary the exact spices to suite your own taste.
Step One
Bring 1 pint water and 4 tbsp. assorted spices to a boil for five minutes. Continue to simmer until the mixture has reduced by half.
Step Two
Break four eggs into a small glass mixing bowl. Beat the eggs well while the water and spice mixture is heating.
Step Three
Pour the water-and-spice mixture through a tea strainer and into a clean saucepan to remove large pieces of spice. Return to heat. If bits of spice are stuck to the sides of the first saucepan, quickly rinse them out.
Step Four
Add 3/4 cup sugar to the spiced water. Stir to dissolve the sugar, and heat the mixture to just under the boiling point.
Step Five
Add about a cup of the heated mixture to the eggs, and whisk vigorously to avoid lumps. Pour the whisked eggs back into the main saucepan, and then quickly pour the entire mixture into the second saucepan. Continue to blend in the eggs by "mulling" the mixture between the two saucepans -- pour the mixture back and forth between the vessels. If you don't want to use the traditional mulling technique, simply continue whisking the mixture in the first saucepan until well blended.
Step Six
Add 1 pint port to the mixture. Heat the mixture almost to the boiling point, and then remove it from the heat.
Step Seven
Serve with oblong strips of toast or rusks for a traditional presentation.