Thanksgiving Eve: The Biggest Bar Night of the Year

Last updated on May 26th, 2021 at 04:38 pm

The biggest bar night of the year, Thanksgiving Eve, is just around the corner. It’s a night when families, friends, and neighbors return to the place where they grew up to talk about the past year, declare what they are thankful for and just have an all around good time. Since very few people have work the next day you can expect customers to stay out longer and drink more than usual. Thanksgiving Eve will no doubt be a fun and wild night.

If you own a bar, you’re going to want to pull out all the stops to ensure that your establishment will be the busiest bar in town. Schedule the best bands to entertain customers all night and of course you’ll need great drink choices and specials.

Nothing says Thanksgiving (and Christmas is almost here) as much as Mulled Wine. Also known as Glühwein in Germany and Glogg in Scandinavia, it’s immensely popular in Europe and it’s gaining in popularity here in the US. Served hot, Mulled Wine is made using Red Wine, spices, and almonds or raisins and it’s rather simple to make.

Jamie Oliver’s Mulled Wine

Ingredients
• 2 clementines
• peel of 1 lemon
• peel of 1 lime
• 250g caster sugar
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 fresh bay leaves
• 1 whole nutmeg
• 1 whole vanilla pod, halved
• 2 star anise
• 2 bottles of Chianti, or other Italian red wine

Directions:

1. Put sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the pieces of peel and squeeze in the clementine juice. Add the cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and about 10 to 12 gratings of nutmeg.

2. Throw in your halved vanilla pod and stir in just enough red wine to cover the sugar.

3. Let this simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved into the red wine and then bring to the boil. Keep on a rolling boil for about 4 to 5 minutes, or until you’ve got a beautiful thick syrup to create a wonderful flavor base by really getting the sugar and spices to infuse and blend well with the wine.*

4. When your syrup is ready turn the heat down to low and add your star anise and both bottles of wine.

5. Gently heat the wine and after 5 minutes, when it’s warm and delicious, ladle it into glasses and serve.

*It’s important to do make a syrup base first because it needs to be quite hot, and if you do this with both bottles of wine in there you’ll burn off the alcohol.

Feeling especially daring? Add a shot of Brandy or Cognac to give Mulled Wine an extra kick!