5 Delicious Festive Drinks To Enjoy From The Red Original Travel Cup

With the festive season upon us, everyone at Red Original is finally starting to get into the Christmas spirit. Since the arrival of our new Insulated Travel Cup some of the team have used this as an excuse to get into the swing of things a little earlier than usual, but it’s OK. It is the season to be jolly after all!

ANYWAY! Now that it’s a perfectly acceptable and appropriate time to start getting Christmassy, we thought we’d share some of our favourite festive drinks with you. Some are hot, some are cold, but all are absolutely delicious and sure to get you feeling festive too.

Mulled Wine

Let’s start with a classic Winter warmer; mulled wine. What makes mulled wine great is that it’s not only delicious but versatile too.

You can enjoy a glass while out with friends, curled up on the sofa at home (good luck if your sofa is beige), or, if you have an insulated travel cup, while on a brisk Winter walk. Another fantastic thing about mulled wine - and most other drinks on this list - is that it’s easy to make! All you need is:

• 750ml (1 bottle) red wine
• 100g demerara sugar
• 2 x oranges
• 2 x lemons
• 2 x cinnamon sticks
• 4 x star anise
• 4 x cloves

And once you have them, all you’ve got to do is…

1. Cut your lemons and oranges into circular slices and remove all the seeds
2. Pour your red wine into a saucepan and add all other ingredients after it
3. Gently simmer for 6-10 minutes, stirring occasionally
4. Serve up and drink

There you have it. As you can see, the only way making mulled wine could be any easier is if you choose to buy a pre-mixed bottle of the stuff, in which case all you need to do is stick a mugful in the microwave or heat it up in the pan.

The longer the ingredients are left to simmer in the wine, the more flavourful and aromatic your mulled wine will be. That said, you need to be careful as allowing the wine to boil will ruin the end result. If you are using an insulated cup like the Red Original travel cup, leaving part of a cinnamon stick and half a slice of orange or lemon mixed in with the wine will allow those particular flavours to come through stronger as you continue to enjoy your beverage.

When it comes to choosing a base, you’ll want to avoid delicate red wines - like Merlot, Grenache, and Pinot Noir; which includes all Burgundy wine - as their flavours will be overpowered by the cinnamon, cloves, and star anise. Personally, we’d recommend a Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Shiraz, however, you can have quite a lot of fun experimenting with different wines to find your favourite.