With batch cocktails, guests will happily help themselves to a celebratory and refreshing drink, while you’re free to mingle, greet new arrivals and catch up with old friends.

We reached out to Rebekah Peppler, author of Apéritif: Cocktail Hour the French Way, to ask about one of her favorite batch cocktail recipes. Read on for her Vin Chaud Rouge, a festive mulled wine recipe, and to learn more about l’apéro, the French tradition of pre-dinner drinks and snacks.

Rebekah writes:

During last few months of the year, Paris is everything you imagine. The city sparkles, the nights are cold but worth dashing from chez toi to your favorite spot for apéro. If you don’t yet have a favorite, just look for foggy windows and lovers tucked under heat lamps and you’ve found it. The inspiration for Apéritif’s Vin Chaud Rouge is a product of that city-wide, cold-month magic and while it’s a drink I’d happily sip alone, it’s made to batch and share. Pour out a few bottles of red, infuse with honey and spices, squeeze in lime à la minute. It shouldn’t take much more than that to convince your crew to brave the cold and dash from chez eux to chez toi.
Learn more about Apéritif: Cocktail Hour the French Way.