About Us History Own Label Branding A Potted History of Mulling A tremendous amount of documentation and pictorial description of early wine making exists, some dating from the time of the Pharaohs, whose wall paintings show every aspect of the craft in great detail, and some from ancient Greece and Rome, whose poets and authors wrote exhaustively on the growing of grapes and the making of wine. The Romans drank great quantities of wine but diluted it well with water, as did the Greeks and indeed the inhabitants of most wine-producing countries do to this day, save for their best vintages. One of the main reasons for this was that until the discovery of the use of cork for stoppers air could not be effectively excluded and most wine had to be drunk very young and rough. The Romans regarded those who drank their wine neat as gross topers, but some of their dilute potions would have seemed odd, if not revolting, to our palates today for they would have mixed them with every kind of spice and flavouring. When the Romans first arrived in Britain we had already been making our own wine for centuries as well as mead and ale. These would all have been made using honey, as there was no sugar generally available in Britain until about two hundred years ago. Honey would also have been added with water and or herbs and spices to make the rough wines more palatable. Of course heating the wine or ale would further improve the taste and have the added effect of warming the bellies of the poor wretched folk in the cold bleak winter days. Many of the same reasons would have applied for the consumption of gluhwein and indeed hot whisky toddies. These were obviously heated up to create really warming and reviving drinks to keep out the cold especially in the chilly European mountainous regions. In the case of whisky toddies where a blend of spices would have been added to water and a good measure of whisky, this became synonymous with easing the symptoms of colds and flu etc. One can conjure up wonderful images of medieval folk huddled by a fire in an old tavern or inn, plunging hot pokers into their mugs of rough wine or ale. Bringing this tradition up to date we have taken the best features and ingredients from old recipes and folklore and of course, where necessary, improved them to create delicious and exciting recipes for all sorts of mulled and spiced drinks. These are now much easier to prepare and can in the main be ready in minutes. We have presented our range of mulled drinks in attractive gift orientated packaging designed to easily sit within the 'gift food' market as well as general gift and incentive markets. We are always striving to seek and find interesting recipes and ideas to develop and enhance for today's ever-changing market. This format has worked well for Old Hamlet Wine & Spice Company for the last 25 years and looks to continue for the foreseeable future. Please note the above text is a personal interpretation of historical information taken from various sources. It should not necessarily be taken as hard fact, although we believe it to be accurate. As is always the case when we send copy, samples or prepared artwork to prospective customers, we request that you take notice that the contents, design and packaging of these are the property of Old Hamlet Wine & Spice Company and should not be copied, reproduced or otherwise made use of without the express written consent of Old Hamlet Wine & Spice Company.