Krasomelo ... honeyed wine

Krasomelo, the festive brew *to warm the cockles of your heart, down to the very marrow of your bones

*to warm the cockles of your heart : to bring happiness and great contentment

Drink for medicinal purposes (colds and flu), at Christmas, on cold winter nights (days and afternoons)

Warm, sweet and spicy wine.  You may know it as
gluwein
mulled wine
hot toddy
glogg

It's mid-winter 'sangria' and goes back to Dimokritus, an ancient Greek philospher of course.  Rumoured to have been invented to cover that vinegary taste once ancient wine started to sour.  Nowadays I would follow the advice of chefs using wine in their cooking.  If you wouldn't drink it then don't use it.

Dimokritos

Basic recipe

1 bottle red wine  or white or rose  (1 litre greek  mavrodaphne)
3 tbsps honey (or less)
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves
peel of one orange
cup of orange juice

Warm it all gently, till the honey has melted and the aroma of the spices has seeped through the wine .  You don't want to boil off the alcohol!   

I add
 a mug of well steeped fruit flavoured herbal tea
a shot of some sort of spirits, whatever I have on hand which is usually raki

You could add

a piece of ginger
sprig of rosemary
handful of raisins
some fresh grated nutmeg

a shot of
Cointreau   or
Brandy    

Strain it into a favourite mug.  Don't bother to decorate with orange slices or a cinnamon stick.  They only get in the way and have to be removed before drinking    

I like this with the mug of fruity tea.  It is like watering down your wine without removing any of the taste.  It also makes more  if you have a crowd and not a lot of wine.  Ha, ha.  Not likely to ever happen around here.
  Another 5 litre container of raki appeared in our house last night as if by magic.  Wine multiplies the same way.  It's a miracle!  Next it will be loaves and fishes.

Rakomelo   -  honeyed raki (pastis, sambouka, arak, zivania)

Raki is also known as tsikoudia or tsipouro depending which area you are in Greece.  It is often drunk here with an ice cube in it, rarely with water like ouzo.  In a small village near ancient Olympia we were asked if we wanted it warmed up, without the honey and clove.

1 tsp spoon of honey for every shot of raki
1 clove
1 tsp cinnamon

Warm the raki gently.  Mix in honey and clove. Strain, drink

This is not an innocent liqueur.  Don't drink too many glasses and stand up suddenly!  You might just plop straight down again