The special annual edition of the Blossa glögg — now in its 16th year —usually takes us to new places in the world for the flavor of this vintage mulled wine. Previous coordinates were set in England, El Salvador and Japan, for instance, but Blossa 16 has returned home to Sweden for nature’s pantry that can be found in Norrland's vast forests.

"With Blossa 16, I wanted to portray an outing in the woods that ends at evening up around the campfire,” explained Åsa Orsvärn, chief blender of Blossa.
"Crowberry is sometimes forgotten but in this taste we found an ingredient that contributes freshness to our vintage mulled wine. Birch syrup refined from sap adds a round sweetness and holds notes of toffee. As a reminder of the campfire, Blossa 16 features a slight smokiness. Along with classic mulled wine spices and carefully selected wines, we have managed to create a glögg we are very proud of,” Orsvärn continued.
Crowberry grows wild and covers large areas in the north but also in other parts of Sweden in its southern variant. Throughout history crowberry has been considered curative, perhaps thanks to its copious amounts of antioxidant anthocyanins, the highest values of all together with blueberries.
Although the Blossa glögg bottle keeps its shape from year to year, the colors and design change. Many people have quite a collection of these colorful bottles. This year's is characterized by shades of green — reminders of the shadow play in a forest landscape. The typography in gold at the center stands out like a fire to gather around, with dancing leaves, deer, wolverines and bears. The artist Petra Börner and Scandinavian Design Group created the design. If you travel to Scandinavia, you’ll find the special edition at most tax free stores and in every state owned liquor store in Sweden, Systembolaget.

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The makers of Blossa suggest combining their glögg with Gáhkku, a sami flatbread baked in a dry cast iron pan

Makes 8–10 breads
1 oz fresh yeast (25 g)
2 1/2 dl milk, luke warm
 1 cup
1 tbsp sugar (1 msk
)
2/3 of a stick (75g) butter in room temperature
1 tsp salt (1 tsk)
2.5 – 3 cups (6–7dl) flour
Instruction
ANNONS
1. Break up the yeast into a bowl and add the milk.
2. Add sugar, butter, salt and flour, a little at a time. Kneed until smooth. Butter or oil a bowl for the dough to rest in. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about an hour to double the original size.
4. Cover a baking area with flour and kneed the dough. Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces and use a rolling pin to create round pieces, about 1/5 of an inch thick. Puncture with a fork.
5. Heat up a dry flat iron pan and fry the bread pieces 1-2 minutes on each side. Wrap in a towel and serve with crab meet salad, a beef stew, mushroom and leek stew or another ingredient of your liking.