Smoking Bishop

Smoking Bishop is the punch Ebenezer Scrooge promises to share with Bob Cratchit at the end of A Christmas Carol, and the recipe predates Dickens by a long way. Georgian and Victorian households brewed it through Advent, named the variations after church ranks, and ladled it from polished bowls into small mugs. The flavour is unlike modern mulled wine: deeper, more orange-led and slightly bitter from the roasted citrus pith, and a couple of mugs can carry an entire evening.

For a smaller, single-serve mug on quieter nights, our Hot Apple Gin sits in a different tradition entirely but keeps the same warm, spiced character.

Roasting the oranges

The defining step is roasting clove-studded oranges before they go anywhere near the wine. Push eight whole cloves into each orange, spacing them roughly evenly, and roast at 180°C for half an hour until the skins blister and the kitchen smells like Christmas. The heat does two things: it caramelises sugars in the rind and softens the pith so its bitter compounds release slowly into the wine, balancing the sweetness of the port. Use thin-skinned oranges if possible; Seville oranges, in season from late December, give a particularly traditional, marmalade-like flavour.

Warming and serving

Once the wine has rested overnight with the oranges, strain everything into a wide pan, press the fruit gently to extract the juice and add the port. Warm the punch over the lowest heat your hob will give, stirring occasionally, until steam rises but the surface never quite ripples into a simmer. Boiling cooks off the alcohol and dulls the spices, so patience pays. Ladle into small heatproof mugs or punch cups, and if you reserved a roasted orange slice or two, float one in each cup as a garnish. A small pinch of freshly grated nutmeg on top is optional but very welcome.