Wassail! A history & recipe of a very festive winter drink

Today we’re making a new recipe for an ancient winter drink - Wassail! I looked for the original recipe, and couldn’t believe how many renditions there are for this festive, hot, punch-like drink. I saw recipes calling for hard cider, beer, wine, brandy, mead, and even some nonalcoholic variations. The origins of Wassail date back to pre-christian England, when midwinter festivals were held in the orchards (it’s still celebrated like this in some places). Over time, the drink became associated with Christmas, and traditions surrounding it remain popular today (caroling came from wassailing). With a drink this old, the recipes, like its traditions, were bound to evolve - so I’ve made my own recipe to share with you today! Whether you enjoy Wassail for Christmas, the holidays in general, or plan on sharing it with your fruit trees - stay warm and be merry. Happy holidays, everyone! Waes Hael! Get your bottles at House of Bitter Bear 👉 https://houseofbitterbear.com Video/editing/illustrations by Azusa Inaba 🎥 🎨 Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anderserickson TIME STAMPS Intro: 0:00 The History: 0:39 The Booze: 3:20 The Recipe: 5:12 Sips & Sign off: 7:49 THE WASSAIL RECIPE 5:12 3 cups (24 oz./ ~720 ml) unfiltered apple juice (nonalcoholic cider) 2 cups (16 oz./ ~480 ml) Lustau Amontillado Los Arcos Sherry 1 cup (8 oz./ ~240 ml) Begyle Brewing Christmas Ale (or favorite dark beer) 1/2 cup (4 oz./ ~120 ml) Laird’s Straight Apple Brandy Bottled in Bond 1/2 cup (~125 g) Demerara sugar 8 whole cloves 8 allspice berries 4 cinnamon sticks 4 cardamom pods 4 slices of fresh ginger Dried apple slices for garnish THE TOOLS The induction burner: https://amzn.to/3mgewEW Comparable induction pot with lid: https://amzn.to/3vgDxnv My workhorse double jigger: https://amzn.to/3lmmKrK Bar spoon: https://amzn.to/3wkkDhg Muslin bags: https://amzn.to/3mwI5z9 Measuring cup: https://amzn.to/3HXpj2e Serrated knife: https://amzn.to/3qg8nsB Electric kettle: https://amzn.to/3J7dAMu As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Special thanks to our top-tier patrons: Adam Greetis Jacob Swain Brandon Carey Randy Calegari Mike Russo Bdxman Alex Smith Matt Dougherty Michael Cooney Sarah Duncan Matthew Crowley Kevin Callum Evans Dzomery Lisa Worsham Sean Derek Patstone Rick Turoczy Alex Rosenberg Kevin Wildman Silverio Al Gailey Follow Me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anderserickson/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/anderserickson_ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andersericksoncocktails Send stuff to: Anders Erickson PO Box 248 Baileys Harbor, WI 54202 Image attributions: - wassailing image 1: Stephen and Helen Jones from England, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons - Wassailing image 2: Brian Marks, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons - Wassailing image 3: Glyn Baker / Anointing - Wassail Image: Jeremy Tarling from London, United Kingdom