Mulled Winter in Brunswick

When I first learned about mulled drinks in Australia, I was comfortably welcomed by its taste, smell and warm feeling as it goes down my throat and lands in my belly during a cold winter day. 

But it made me wonder what’s in them? Whether it’s mulled wine or cider, I became curious.

I did some [very] superficial research online and found that Mulled drinks are made with mulling spices and the term mulled applies to those drinks that have been spiced with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg, and less frequently with star anise, peppercorn, or cardamom.

Ok, thank you internet but I also wanted to learn what local businesses recipes were. While they didn’t give away all of their details, this is what I found about three Brunny bars that serve mulled drinks.

(Tip: Click on the venue’s name or image to go to maps)

Union Hotel (109 Union St, Brunswick West)

This is a classic Melburnian and Brunswick pub located at the west end of Union Street. Live music, beer garden, pub food, footy on the screens, you get the idea. 

The Union serves Mulled Cider. They use Napoleon Cider as the base and the ingredients depend on the manager on shift (it’s like an alcoholic Kinder Surprise!).

“Sometimes we use honey or brown sugar added with fresh ginger, allspice, cloves and orange peel with cardamom, star anise and cinnamon myrtle, and a mystery ingredient to give it a kick like whisky or rum. Topped with ground cinnamon and dried apple.” 

Served in a 350mL mug for $13 ~ 1.5 standard drinks.

ReWine (522 Lygon St, Brunswick East)

This cute little bar is located towards the northern end of Lygon Street. It has a lovely atmosphere perfect for a first date, an intimate celebration with your partner, or just to have a calm chat with yourself or with Maddy who is behind the bar. 

For its Mulled Wine, ReWine combines vanilla bean paste, orange juice and peel, bay leaves, chilli flakes, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and raw sugar.

You can either try their recipe for $10 a glass or you can also buy one of their wines (bottles are returnable!), and a mulled wine syrup that will allow you to make your own at home.

Creature (140 Lygon St, Brunswick East)

Right in the middle of Lygon Street where most of the action happens, this relatively new bar welcomes you to try their own special blend for $10. Tank and/or Lia will happily serve you and share a Creature story with you.

“Our mulled wine it’s called Yubaba’s Brew, and if you get that, then you know how good it’s likely to be. It’s fortified with both port and cognac”.

I’ve given all of the mulled drinks mentioned above a go and they all have their own personality. All are worth trying, and all the venues worth visiting.

Now that you know, grab your puffed jacket, your beanie, a pair of gloves and get out there to try a glass of a mulled drink in Brunswick.

Other bars that sell mulled drinks in Brunswick include The Retreat, The Bergy Seltzer, Daddy Bar, CBCB & ODFUB, and the Brunswick Green.

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Note: The cover photo in this article was taken outside ReWine on Lygon Street.