How To | Wassail Well

In our January issue we met some Wassailers and were inspired to give it a go ourselves. The idea behind Wassailing is to bless the trees for the coming year and see off evil spirits that may diminish its crop. But mostly it’s just to have a bit of bonkers British fun in dank January. Here’s how to Wassail well. 

For your Wassail, you will need:

A slice of toast (soaked in cider if you like)

Ribbons in Wassailish colours (green, white and red, generally, but do Wassail as you wish)

Some suitable music. If you happen to be friends with a folk band, that is excellent but a playlist on Spotify will do equally well

A saucepan and wooden spoon

Mulled cider or apple juice (recipes below)

A firepit if you have one

How to Wassail:

1. Get your Wassailing music on while you make your Wassailing mulled cider or apple juice. 

2. Once it’s simmering nicely, head outside with your ribbons and tie them to your intended tree. The point of a Wassail is to thank the trees and to ensure a good harvest for next year by seeing off evil spirits from them. 

3. Ban your saucepan with a wooden spoon around the tree to ‘wake up’ the tree and drive evil spirits away. 

4. Light a fire if you like (a candle in a jar will do) and get your warmed cider out. Pour everyone a cup, then pour one on the roots of the tree, and also soak a piece of toast in some of the cider and place it carefully in the tree’s branches. The idea is that birds will take pieces of the Wassailed toast, be well fed and then hang about in the tree, ridding it of insects during the coming year. 

5. Once warmed and cheered by cider, gather together around the fire (or candle) and sing your Wassail songs. 

A song for your Wassail

This ‘Somerset Wassail’ is fairly easy to get the hang of. If you need help with the tune, try listening to The Wassail Song by John Kirkpatrick on Spotify.

1. Wassail and wassail all over the town
The cup it is white and the ale it is brown
The cup it is made of the good ashen tree
And so is the malt of the best barley

Chorus: For its your wassail and its our wassail
And its joy be to you and a jolly wassail

2. Oh master and missus, are you all within?
Pray open the door and let us come in
O master and missus a-sitting by the fire
Pray think on us poor travelers, a traveling in the mire

Chorus

3. Oh where is the maid with the silver-headed pin
To open the door and let us come in
Oh master and missus, it is our desire
A good loaf and cheese and a toast by the fire

Chorus

4. There was an old man and he had an old cow
And how for to keep her he didn't know how
He built up a barn for to keep his cow warm
And a drop or two of cider will do us no harm

Chorus

5. The girt dog of Langport he burnt his long tail
And this is the night we go singing wassail
O master and missus now we must be gone
God bless all in this house until we do come again

Make Wassail Spiced Cider

A bottle of cider (or apple juice if going non-boozy)

Slices of fruit (eg apples and oranges)

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

Brown sugar to taste

a few cloves

A small grating of nutmeg

Pile all the ingredients into a large pan or slow cooker and gently mull, then keep warm until you need it.

In our January issue we met some Wassailers and were inspired to give it a go ourselves. The idea behind Wassailing around Twelfth Night* is to bless the trees for the coming year and see off evil spirits that may diminish its crop. But mostly it’s just to have a bit of bonkers British fun in dank January. Here’s how to Wassail well.

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More Wassail…

Recipe: Buttered bourbon apple cider

Make two batches of our November cover recipe – one boozy, one kid- and driver-friendly – for a warming autumn treat.

Getting together with friends and family happens so easily in summer – good weather and that holiday feeling being the natural allies of socialising. Yet there’s plenty to celebrate come bonfire season: autumn’s fiery canopy, the crisp, cold air and fast-falling dusk lend themselves to gathering outdoors, wrapping up, wellies donned, and feasting around the fire. We’ll raise a glass of mulled cider to that.

Recipe: Buttered bourbon apple cider

Serves 6–8

500ml apple cider*
100ml apple juice
1 tbsp light brown sugar
Cinnamon sticks (one, plus some to use as stirrers)
Cloves
Star anise
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of ginger
Sliced fresh fruit (orange, apple)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
150ml bourbon

1. In a large pot add the cider, apple juice and sugar; heat until it starts to simmer.

2. Add all other ingredients except for the butter and bourbon.

3. Let the spiced cider simmer for 10 mins, then add the butter and bourbon, stirring gently until the butter has melted.

4. Remove from the heat, pour into glasses, add a cinnamon stick to each glass and serve. You can strain the mixture before pouring, if you don’t want ‘bits’.

* To make a children’s version, replace the bourbon and cider with apple juice (600ml in total).