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The winter will be short, the summer long, The autumn amber-hued, sunny and hot, Tasting of cider and of scuppernong; All seasons sweet, but autumn best of all. The squirrels in their silver fur will fall Like falling leaves, like fruit, before your shot.

Elinor Wylie

The chilly seasons welcome a delicious drink called hot mulled cider, a traditional drink made from heated apple cider with various spices added, including citrus orange, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. It’s a perfect drink on chilly days whether you are home alone by your fireplace reading a book, or having a party serving this drink with your friends.

Learn about National Hot Mulled Cider Day

Is there anything more comforting and delicious than a glass of hot mulled cider? National Hot Mulled Cider Day warms our homes with the amazing aroma of apple, nutmeg, and cinnamon. As the season of fall arrives, it is the perfect opportunity for us to wrap our cold hands around a mug of mulled cider. If you’re looking to spend a comfortable evening with a loved one or you wish to enjoy some precious time on your own, getting cozy on the sofa with some mulled cider is the perfect solution.

This is a traditional winter and fall drink that is made by adding spices, including cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and orange peel to cider, and then warming it until it is almost boiling. Before you even begin drinking your mulled cider, the pure scent of it steeping on the stove is going to put a smile on everyone’s face.

The alcohol content in mulled cider is not incredibly high. You will typically only find that there is three quarters of an ounce of alcohol per an eight-ounce serving, so it means that you can enjoy a few mugs without worrying about getting too drunk! Of course, everyone’s alcohol tolerance is different, so don’t take our word on that!

History of National Hot Mulled Cider Day

The history of hot mulled cider bears remarkable similarities to the old pagan tradition called Wassailing. The word ‘wassail’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon phrase ‘waes hael’, which means ‘good health’. The wassail was a drink made of mulled ale, curdled cream, roasted apples, eggs, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and sugar.

It was served from huge, 10-gallon bowls, often made of silver or pewter. This originally came from a story about a young beautiful maiden presenting the drink to Prince Vortigen, saying the words “waes hael” in a toast. The term wassailing refers to the act of the bowl being carried into the room with great splendor, a traditional carol about wassailing and then the beverage was served.

Nowadays, hot mulled cider is generally referred to non-alcoholic, fermented apple juice. Hard cider would be the alcoholic version of apple cider. This drink can be served during the fall and winter seasons, and it is similar to Mulled wine, which is essentially hot, sweetened red wine made aromatic with the addition of citrus fruits and warming spices such as cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. However, people these days have been gravitating towards mulled apple cider as a drink that anyone can have.

How to celebrate National Hot Mulled Cider Day

One of the best ways to celebrate this holiday is to find a recipe and make mulled cider yourself! It’s a very easy and simple drink with a lot of flavor. In a large pot, add brown sugar to apple cider over medium heat. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved.

Then add other ingredients such as nutmeg, allspice, orange juice, and lemon juice, and bring to a boil. When serving, strain out the spices, pour into a mug, and enjoy! Add a cinnamon stick to your mug if you’d like, or make it fancy and add rum into your mixture.

You will find that there are a lot of different takes on hot mulled cider on the Internet. All you need to do is a quick search online, and you will see that a lot of people have shared their different mulled cider recipes, with different spices added to the mix. You are bound to find something that appeals to your taste buds, and you can have fun trying a different mulled cider recipe on this date every year.

If you want to use National Hot Mulled Cider Day as an opportunity to spend some time with your friends and loved ones, why not invite them around so that you can all enjoy some hot mulled cider together? You can put on some tasty snacks and enjoy some precious moments with one and other.

There are a lot of different foods and dishes that go with mulled cider if you are thinking about entertaining on National Hot Mulled Cider Day. This includes creamy pasta dishes, gingerbread, turkey dinners, blue cheese (or any dish whereby blue cheese is used as a key ingredient), squash soup, pancakes, cinnamon sugar doughnuts, and apple pie. As you can see, a lot of the suggestions, especially the desserts, contain the same sort of spices that you would find in mulled cider itself, which is why they make such a good pair. Churros with cinnamon sugar is another great choice!

If you make too much mulled cider (although there’s never a thing as too much, right?), you will be able to store the leftover cider in your fridge for up to three days. Or, why not knock on a few of your neighbors’ doors and offer them some of your concoction?