When should I drink wassail?

When should I drink wassail?

Wassailing was traditionally done on New Year’s Eve and Twelfth Night, but some rich people drank Wassail on all the 12 days of Christmas! The Wassail drink mixture was sometimes called ‘Lamb’s Wool’, because of the pulp of the roasted apples looked all frothy and a bit like Lambs Wool!

Why do people drink wassail?

The wassailing, or blessing of the fruit trees, involves drinking and singing to the health of the trees in the hope that they will provide a bountiful harvest in the autumn.

What is wassail made of?

Traditional wassail was made with hard liquor, apples, brandy, and other spices. This recipe is made with cloves, apples, cinnamon, lemon, orange, ginger, and nutmeg and is a nonalcoholic wassail recipe.

What’s the difference between wassail and apple cider?

What is the difference between mulled cider, spiced cider, and wassail? The short answer is NOTHING! Both mulled cider and wassail refer to a spiced juice drink. While wassail is traditionally a warm spiced apple drink, other mulled ciders contain cranberry or other flavors.

What exactly is wassail?

(Entry 1 of 2) 1 : an early English toast to someone’s health. 2 : a hot drink that is made with wine, beer, or cider, spices, sugar, and usually baked apples and is traditionally served in a large bowl especially at Christmastime.

Why is it called wassail?

Wassailing predates the Battle of Hastings and is thought to have its origins in Ancient Rome, where people would make sacrifices to the Pomona, the Roman Goddess of Fruits. The word Wassail originates from the Anglo-Saxon waes-hael, meaning “to your health” and the word is used just as we would use Cheers! today.

What is Wassail Eve?

Still critical to the cider-making calendar of the UK, wassail is celebrated on Twelfth Night, the pagan New Year’s Eve, commonly held to be 6 January. In the deepest and darkest parts of the cider world, though, it happens on 17 January, also known as “Old Twelvey”—the true pagan New Year.

What does wassail mean in Old English?

(Entry 1 of 2) 1 : an early English toast to someone’s health. 2 : a hot drink that is made with wine, beer, or cider, spices, sugar, and usually baked apples and is traditionally served in a large bowl especially at Christmastime. 3 : riotous drinking : revelry.

What is wassail day?

Wassailing is a Twelfth Night tradition that has been practised in Britain for centuries. It has its roots in a pagan custom of visiting orchards to sing to the trees and spirits in the hope of ensuring a good harvest the following season.

What kind of alcohol was used to make Wassail?

The drink wassail is essentially a hot mulled cider or ale, sweetened with sugar and made aromatic with spices and made much boozier with sherry, brandy or sack (a sweet, fortified ale similar in taste to sherry) and sometimes thickened with eggs.

Where did the tradition of Wassail come from?

“Wassail” originates in the Old Norse drinking salutation “Ves heil” (“Be well”) of over 1,000 years ago. Centuries later, Wassailing was popularized in Old England as a seasonal singing ritual to ensure a good cider apple harvest. Eventually, wassailing evolved into a tradition of Twelfth Night.

What’s the difference between Wassail and apple cider?

Wassail is like the tastier sister to Apple Cider. Traditional wassail was made with hard liquor, apples, brandy, and other spices.

How do you make Wassail in the UK?

Whilst you wait for the oven to do its job, pour the cider into a large pan with the cinnamon stick, at least 3 generous tablespoons of sugar and 250ml of rum and half of the water. Bring to a simmer and add more sugar and rum, and dilute accordingly with more water. Lastly, for tradition’s sake, atop with slices of toast.