I believe this Wassail recipe to be more traditional than the rum and beer version and it’s the one of the two that I personally prefer. While this does replace the “spirits” with brandy and sherry, this version of the traditional holiday punch is frothy and is a nice touch to the warm drink. Wassail has been used for centuries in its various forms as a comforting which families would serve to carolers and other visitors during the Christmas season. The tradition of going house to house to visit like this is known as wassailing and groups often spent an entire day or evening making their rounds.
Serves 12
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup brandy
- 2 bottles dry sherry
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 6 egg whites
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- cloves
- cinnamon sticks
- apple slices
Preparation:
- Place the water and spices into a saucepan.
- Simmer for 10 minutes, without allowing it to reach a boil and stirring occasionally.
- Add the sherry and sugar and continue to heat and stir for a few minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Beat the egg white and yolks separately.
- Stir the sherry mix and egg yolks together in a heat resistant punch bowl or wassail bowl.
- Add the brandy.
- Whisk in the egg whites until foamy.
- Garnish the punch bowl with apple or other fruit slices.
