Combine cider, juices and cinnamon in kettle; heat to simmer. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add clove-studded orange pieces. Simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat, add brandy and serve. Tastes good at room temperature or even cold, but to reheat, just simmer. Don’t let it boil.

WASSAIL OR GLOGG 

My friend Amy Daniels Moehle, who lives with her husband and daughters in a simple house in the woods near Beulah, says, “My favorite holiday drink recipe was one my Gramma Eleanor, my dad’s mother, would make every holiday season. One Christmas when I felt a little sick I stayed home from church with her, and we made wassail together. I can still feel the way the cloves hurt my fingers as I pushed them into the oranges. When everyone returned from Mass the house was full of the steamy cider-, clove- and orange-scented air. Then we drank it from special orange mugs.”

Wassail is from the Old English wes hal, which translates to “be in good health.” Scandinavians refer to a similar concoction as glogg, which is similar to what we might call a mulled wine.

Many wassail recipes call for beer, such as this old one from Christmas Feasts from History, by Lorna J. Sass, published by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art:

Bake 1 and ½ pounds of cored apples at 375 degrees in a large dish until they burst. When cool, remove the peel and mash the pulp. Heat 1 quart ale in a big pot. Whisk in the apple pulp, 1 T. or more of sugar and ⅛ teaspoon each ground ginger and ground nutmeg. Serve hot in small mugs.

[But, the author cautions, this “may not be to everyone’s taste, so modest servings are suggested.”]

More modern recipes turn to wine, brandy and cider. Here is Gramma Eleanor Daniels’ quick and easy wassail, the one Amy remembers. It’s pretty in a nice bowl or pot with the orange quarters floating on top. The recipe calls for a cup of sugar, but I cut that in half and found it sweet enough. The brandy can be left out if children are sipping, or increased for more potent toasts.