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For centuries, wassailing marked the noisy, boozy end of the Christmas season. Groups of singers would roam from house to house on Twelfth Night, calling out blessings in exchange for food and drink — especially a hot, spiced punch known as wassail.

 meaning “be in good health,” a greeting so old it appears in “Beowulf.” Over time, the ritual softened, but the drink remained: alcohol warmed with apples, citrus and winter spices. That tradition is easy to recreate at home, even without the roaming singers.

One of my favorite Christmas carols is “The Gloucestershire Wassail.” The carol was recorded in the mid-1800s — though the tradition it describes dates back centuries. The song describes a group of wassailers roaming about town and calling on the Lord of a manor house for a blessing in the form of food and alcohol. 

Since I wanted to host my own wassailing party this year, I consulted some YouTube videos and a recipe from the BBC to perfect my wassail. It’s a riff on a specific kind of wassail called “Lambs’ Wool” that uses hard cider, apples and a variety of spices associated with Christmas. 

Preheat your oven to 350. Core your apples and score them. When the oven is ready, place the apples in an oven-safe pan and roast the apples for 40-60 minutes, or until the apples are visibly a bit mushy. 

 While your apples are roasting, place a medium to large pot on the stovetop and set the heat to medium-low.

 Add in your cider and sugar. Stir until the sugar has cooked down. 

 Add in your spices and stir constantly until steam is produced and/or the mixture begins to simmer. 

 Add in your lemon slices and squeeze in a bit of lemon juice from the leftover lemon ends. 

 Remove apples from the oven and add to the pot.

 You can peel back the skins from the apples before adding them to the pot. Alternatively, you can remove the apples’ peels and mash them in a bowl with a little brown sugar before adding them to the mixture. 

 Turn the heat to the lowest setting on the stove top, and serve into a heat-safe cup directly from the pot to ensure it stays hot.

If you added mashed apples but want to avoid the chunks in your drink, you can strain the apples out and add the liquid back to the pot. Save those apples, though — they have soaked up the booze and spices, and taste great over some vanilla ice cream or with whipped cream. 

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Jacob Aloi

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A look at the centuries-old tradition of wassailing — and how to make the hot, spiced cider that has warmed winter celebrations for generations.

Appetites: Wassail punch for your holiday party

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