Shangri-La Hotel Singapore’s area head sommelier Britt Ng has tweaked the classic mulled wine recipe to cater to the local palate. “I’ve incorporated some Asian ingredients to give it some Asian flair and flavours,” explains Ng, whose version is “richer, robust and fuller bodied”. Serve it chilled or warm—either way, “it tastes just as delicious”.

Makes 5 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bottle of shiraz red wine
• 3 pcs cinnamon sticks
• 3 pcs star anise
• 6 pcs cloves
• 2 pcs mace (dried herb from the nutmeg plant) or 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 pc fresh orange (sliced)
• 1 block gula melaka or palm sugar (about 65 grams)
• 100ml Cointreau

METHOD

1. Empty the bottle of red wine into a pot and heat it up until it simmers but not boiling.
2. Mix in the cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves and mace. Stir the ingredients in the simmered wine for about 10 minutes or until you smell the aroma of the herbs and spices.
3. Once the wine becomes aromatic, add in the orange slices, gula melaka and Cointreau. Continue stirring until the sugar dissolves and let the wine simmer for another 5 minutes.
4. Remove the herbs, spices and orange slices so they do not continue to be ‘cooked’ with the wines.
5. Enjoy this mulled wine in a mug; garnish with cinnamon stick and a slice of fresh orange.

Anthony Yeoh, the chef-owner of Summerhill, first encountered eggnog when he was studying in Australia. “It came in a milk carton from the supermarket and just tasted of sweet milk with a tinge of vanilla,” he shares. And while it didn’t make that much impression, it sparked an idea many years later to combine it with the French pain d'epices (spiced bread) to create his signature Christmas cocktail—available at Summerhill during the holiday season. Here is his original recipe, which you can have “chilled and with a spoon to scoop up the fluffy tops”.

Makes 4 to 5 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 4 egg yolks
• 500ml milk
• 250g cream
• 30g sugar
• 70g honey
• Zest of half an orange
• 3 cardamom pods
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 4 cloves
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp All Spice
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 120ml dark rum
• 4 egg whites
• 30g sugar

METHOD

1. Whisk egg yolks and 30g sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. Combine milk, cream, honey, orange zest, spices and salt in a thick-bottomed pan. Slowly heat until the milk is steaming hot but not boiling. Slowly whisk in about half of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks to temper them; add it slowly so as not to scramble the eggs. 
3. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan of milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon.
4. Remove from heat and strain the mixture through sieve into a clean bowl, then stir in rum. Refrigerate till well chilled or for best results leave overnight. To serve, whisk the egg whites with two tablespoons of sugar to form a soft peak.
5. Fill a glass with the chilled eggnog and top with the beaten egg white and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Christmas time in Austria can get really cold, and Klaus Leopold, the founder and director of Austrian gastrobar Leopold, shares that a good punch is a must as “it heats your body, brings people in the community together and tastes delicious”. The recipe he has shared is his mother’s recipe, who also inherited it from his late grandmother. It makes for a delicious accompaniment to your festive feast with its fruity flavours, orange notes and hints of cloves, star anise and cinnamon.

Makes 20 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 200g brown sugar
• 1.5l red wine
• 2l black tea
• 125ml rum
• 8 oranges
• 5 cinnamon sticks
• 15 cloves
• 1tbsp vanilla essence

METHOD

1. Squeeze the juice out of the oranges and put them together with the peels in a minimum 5 litre pot and start heating at medium heat.
2. Add all ingredients into the pot and simmer it for 45 minutes. The punch should only simmer, not boil so that it doesn’t lose its alcohol. Serve hot.

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