Professor's Glogg

There are many formulas for preparing this ancient
seasonal brew called glogg. This is, in my mind, the best of
them.

To serve 20 to 25 ordinary people, 2 to 6 Norwegians or 73
Swedes:

2 qts. dry red wine - cheap stuff works fine (Tavola or
Roma Vino Duva)
2 qts. muscatel
1 pint sweet vermouth
2 tblsp. Angostura bitters
2 cups raisins
Peeling of one orange (optional)
12 whole cardamons, bruised in a mortar with a pestle
10 whole cloves
1 piece (about 2 inches) fresh ginger (optional)
1 stick cinnamon
1 1/2 cups aquavit, brandy, vodka, OR rye whiskey (NOT
scotch)

Note: instead of choosing one of the above, you may add all
4 in any amount you like. It all depends on if you must
drive home afterwards or if your wife is supervising your
work.

1 1/2 cups sugar (optional)
2 cups whole almonds, blanched and peeled (slivered)

Now for the fun part....

Mix all the fluids (or as we Norwegians say, booze) in a
container large enough to hold them. (If it isn't large
enough, you may have to start drinking earlier than you
planned and may never get around to finishing the Glogg)
Get some cheesecloth and make a bag large enough to hold
the spices. Tie with an old piece of string. Dump it in the
pan with enough string outside so you can remove it later
without having to fish around with your hands (we must
have SOME sanitary conditions, on the other hand, as long
as your hands are fairly clean no one really cares) Warm
the whole mess, cover and let stand at least 12 hours.
However, you may begin sampling almost immediately. Of
course, the spices won't start working for a few hours but if
you sample at regular intervals, you can follow their
progress.

Some warnings about sampling:

1. Have a chair handy
2. Take fairly small samples or you may drink it all before
it's done. (This happens regularly to Norwegians and, while
we may grin a lot, we rarely recover our strength in time to
make another batch for all the people we have invited to
come in for a taste and we have to wait until next year.)
This disappoints your friends and makes your wife furious,
so you may have to decide how much you really want to
stay married before you even begin the project.

Throw in the raisins to cook with the Glogg, this doesn't
add much flavor, but it sure makes the raisins a lot of fun.
You may also add the orange peel if you wish. This adds
flavor, but even glogg can't make an orange peel taste good
to eat. Don't eat it! Let people add sugar to their own taste.
Smile at the glogg and say nice things to it while it is
brewing, it needs to feel at home. (Warning: if you hear it
talk back to you, maybe you'd better ease up on the
sampling) invite lots of friends in to drink it with you. this
is not only fun, but it finishes it up and you can make
another batch.  When it's done, strain out the raisins and
put them in the refrigerator. Pour the glogg back into any
empty bottles which i forgot to tell you to save. If you have
any questions, call me. I may not be of any help, but at
least I'll know which houses to invite myself over to.

Skol,
Luther