Winter Line Up

The winter line will be making it's debut very soon.

This years Winter line was inspired by my uncle who is from Germany. He came here as a child during WWII with his parents. He always has wonderful stories to share so this year I've dedicated my Winter line to him.

Winter:

Glühwein

A traditional German beverage drunk during the Christmas holiday.  Usually prepared from red wine and heated with spices such as cinnamon sticks and clove and sweetened with sugar.

In my family, there is another version made usually for the children with cranberry juice and apple cider. Once the kids have had theirs, then the adults pour in the red wine to have what they consider real Glühwein.

Tart cranberries crushed with a medley of seasonal apples, cheap red wine, smoke billows of sweet hay, old rum, spices of clove, cardamon, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Lebkuchen

Lebkuchen can be traced back to the early days of the European spice trade when sugar was an expensive luxury and honey was the common sweetener.

Germany is the one country the with the longest and strongest tradition of baking the flat, shaped Lebkuchen that we know as Gingerbread.

Honey, hazelnuts and walnuts, candied orange and lemon peel, marzipan, spices of cardamom, cinnamon and ginger.

Sankt Nikolaus 

Sankt Nikolaus, was probably born around A.D. 245 in the port city of Patara in what we now call Turkey. Very little solid historical evidence exists for the man who later became the Bishop of Myra and the patron saint of children, sailors, students, teachers, and merchants. He is credited with several miracles and his feast day is Dec. 6, which is the main reason he is connected with Christmas. In parts of Germany Sankt Nikolaus brings his gifts for children on Nikolaustag, Dec. 6, not Dec. 25 like here in the United States.

Snowflakes landing on Douglas fir trees, vetiver, spearmint with a hint of hot cocoa and freshly baked butter cookies.

Glücksschwein

In Germany it is common to give marzipan in the shape of a pig as the new year presents, known as a "Glücksschwein", which means lucky pig.

Almond, sugar and a hint of rosewater.

Stollen

Stollen is a loaf shaped cake made with flour, yeast and water with added dried fruit, candied fruit and nuts and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Here in the U.S., it is known as fruitcake. 

 A sweet cake bread with candied fruits of cranberries, raisins, orange zest and walnuts soaked in 50 year old rum.

There are a few others that are not German themed such as Thanksgiving 1893 as well as a few traditional scents.