Mulled Wine Spice Elixir – 500ml

Mulled Wine Herb Elixir with Gingerbread Spice and Star Anise

The Mulled Wine Herb Elixir is Dr. Jagla's winter liqueur, developed for the three-star Berlin restaurant Rutz. Bitter orange peel, clove, star anise, cinnamon bark, and vanilla provide the mulled wine notes, while walnut shell and licorice add depth. It is not a mulled wine, but its concentrated essence.

The Mulled Wine Herb Elixir is a spiced liqueur with 28% ABV, presented in a 500 ml apothecary bottle with a gift box. It is expressly not a red wine-based drink to be heated, but an independent liqueur made from mulled wine and gingerbread spices. It has been awarded by Gault&Millau.

Spicy, festive, and velvety in the glass

The liqueur smells like Advent without seeming perfumed. Orange peel and cinnamon are at the forefront, followed by clove and star anise, with a dark, almost chocolatey depth in the background.

This comes from the walnut shells, which are macerated along with red grapes and licorice root. They give the liqueur a tart note that grounds the entire spice blend – without them, the elixir would be much sweeter and more generic.

Added to this are bitter orange peel, cardamom, anise, coriander, and vanilla beans. With 28% ABV, the liqueur sits between the mild apple-mallow elixir and the house’s strict bitters, making it surprisingly versatile.

The big difference compared to mulled wine is the concentration. Where a liter of wine dilutes the spices in a pot, here they stand side by side, undiluted. That is why a dash is enough where a whole cup would otherwise be necessary – and why it still tastes like winter even when served over ice.

In hot chocolate and with red cabbage

The Mulled Wine Herb Elixir can be heated or drunk at room temperature around 21 degrees. A measure of 20 ml is sufficient.

The elixir shows its greatest strength in the kitchen. Add a dash to hot chocolate, pour it over vanilla ice cream or a chocolate dessert, or use it in winter tiramisu instead of amaretto. It is also excellent as a spice: a spoonful in red cabbage or in gravy, and your Christmas meal gains a depth that no one can quite place.

As an aperitif, mix it with Crémant or with tonic water for a long drink. It pairs well with gingerbread and strong goat cheese, such as aged Chèvre Noir, where salt and spice meet.

To try it out, the Mulled Wine Herb Elixir is available in 50 ml. Anyone looking for a ready-to-drink, non-alcoholic winter punch will find it in the Winter-Glühen rot.

Developed for a three-star table

This elixir was not created for the shelf, but for a specific kitchen. Christina Jagla developed it for the Berlin restaurant Rutz, which holds three Michelin stars.

It spread from there, and because demand continued, it has been released every year during the cold season as a limited winter edition. Those looking for it in the summer may not find it.

You can tell that the liqueur was intended for a kitchen and not just for the drink afterwards. It is designed for combinations, handles both heat and cold equally well, and holds its own against strong flavors instead of getting lost in them.

Production is more complex than with the other elixirs because significantly more ingredients must be balanced against each other. It is prepared by hand in small batches, cold and without haste, at the Park-Apotheke in the Elberfeld Luisenviertel in Wuppertal, which is run by Helmut Jagla. A long maturation follows.

Caramel color, dyes, and preservatives are not used in the bottle; the herb quality follows the old German Pharmacopoeia. The herbal specialties were meant to go beyond the Bergisches Land region, says Christina Jagla about her move to Berlin at the end of 2015. You can find the entire Dr. Jagla range in the manufacturer hub.