Hayman’s Winter Warmers

There are few winter activities more appealing than curling up in a cosy pub or on the sofa with a steaming mug of something mulled…

You’ve had Mulled Wine, you’ve had Mulled Cider, but have you ever had Mulled Gin? No, this isn’t something we’ve just made up, in fact, we’ve taken inspiration from the streets, taverns and hearthsides of Victorian London to create a series of winter warmers, each made with our gin at their heart.

Charles Dickens is known for creating some of the most memorable characters in English literature, from Oliver Twist to Miss Haversham. A lesser-known fact is that he’s also responsible for immortalising in literature a number of warming winter punches, which would have been drunk on the streets of Victorian London. In the classic ‘A Christmas Carol’, a Christmas feast is completed with “seething bowls of punch that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam”; need we say more?

Alongside our returning favourite Mulled Sloe Gin, we’ve taken some contemporary classics – from the Negroni to the Cosmo – and combined them with flavoured teas to give them a wintry True English Gin twist.

Warming, comforting and bursting with flavour, our simple recipes below are easy to recreate at home, whether you’re planning a party or wanting to fill a Thermos to keep you going on a bracing winter walk. What better way to embrace a True English Winter – rain and all – than with a steaming mug of hot gin? Pop by your nearest Waitrose for our London Dry Gin and Marks and Spencer for our Sloe Gin, and put the kettle on…

(The recipes below are for single serves, so scale these up for volume. For each recipe, slowly heat the ingredients in a saucepan and ladle into mugs.)

Mulled Sloe Gin

• 50ml Hayman’s Sloe Gin
• 125ml Red Wine
• 1 teaspoon Honey
• Dash of Allspice
• Garnish with a cinnamon stick and apple slice

Hot Negroni

• 35ml Hayman’s London Dry Gin
• 35ml Campari
• 35ml Martini Rosso
• 20ml Sugar Syrup
• 200ml Taylor’s Sour Cherry Tea (or other cherry tea)
• Garnish with an orange wheel or orange zest

Hot Comso

• 45ml Hayman’s London Dry Gin
• 15ml Cointreau
• 20ml Lime Juice
• 60ml Cranberry Juice
• 15ml Sugar Syrup
• 100ml Tea Pigs Superfruit Tea (or other superfruit tea)
• Garnish with a lime wheel or orange zest