Wassail

 

This recipe is a repeat from an earlier post. Courtney called and said Dave wanted my wassail recipe, so here goes:

When I first quit drinking, I kind of missed having something festive to sip during the holidays. Eggnog just doesn't cut it without the "nog," as we say, although a good nonalcoholic cup with plenty of nutmeg can be tasty. I started researching wassail recipes because it seemed like such a neat idea. After reviewing a ton of recipes here's my take on wassail. I'm going to give proportions, rather than strict measurements because that's how I make mine. I've also started to use lemonade because I don't add sugar. I will, however add honey if I think the wassail needs to be sweetened. This makes it taste wonderful, while soothing the throat so you can sing more choruses of "Grandma got run over by a reindeer," although in honor of me, it should be "Grandma got run over by a Dodge truck."

Mom's Wassail
Twice as much apple juice or cider as orange juice and twice as much orange juice as lemonade.
2 allspice berries, three cinnamon sticks, 3 whole cloves, 1 cardamon pod, about 5 slices of fresh ginger or use about a tablespoon of crystallized ginger. Wrap all of this in cheese cloth tied off.
About a quarter cup of honey or to taste
Put the liquid in a crock pot. Add the cheesecloth-wrapped spices and honey. As the wassail cooks, it will need to be diluted. Add water to taste -- in fact you can add water right away if it seems too strong.