I am not a fan of "girly" drinks. I prefer red wine, dark beer and strong whiskey. As far as I'm concerned, coconut and strawberries belong on cake, not in beverages. That being said, get out your martini glasses because I am about to share with you a recipe for the best darn cosmo you'll ever taste.

Yet I want to buy in quantity. Neither my garden nor the farmers' markets make that reasonable. The farm isn't organic, but it advertised no-spray strawberries a couple of months ago, and I picked for a few hours in order to prepare and freeze them for the winter. (We also made a recipe for strawberry-wine ice cream topping from Russ Parsons' fasci

Mulled wine, variations of which are popular around the world, is wine, usually red wine, combined with spices and typically served hot. In the old times wine often went bad, but by adding spices and honey it could be made drinkable again. Nowadays it is a traditional drink during winter used, especially around Christmas, to warm up. In Italy, this beverage is typically drunk in the northern part of the country.Glögg is the Swedish form of mulled wine, similar to Glühwein in German-speaking countries. Glühwein is usually prepared from (not too expensive, sometimes outright cheap) red wine, which is heated and spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves and sugar. Almonds and raisins are often added to the Scandinavian version, though not to the German. The oldest Glühwein tankard is documented in the high noble german and first Riesling grower of the world, Count John IV. of Katzenelnbogen around 1420. This gold-plated lockable silver tankard imitating the traditional wine woven wooden can is called Welcome.In Romania it is called vin fiert ("boiled wine"), and can be made using either red or white wine, sometimes adding peppercorn.In Moldova the izvar is made from red wine with black pepper and honey.If orange juice is added, it becomes a form of punch.