Feuerzangenbowle

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The Feuerzangenbowle is a German Christmas and New Year's tradition which translates literally as "Fire Tongs Punch". The direct translation is "burnt punch". It is a bowl, similar to a fondue set, which hangs over a small spirit burner. The bowl is filled with 3 bottles of warm red wine, and occasionally spices similar to those used in ordinary mulled wine. The bowl is brought out to the dining table at the end of Christmas dinner, and the "Feuerzange" is placed over the bowl. The "Feuerzange" (fire tongs) is a metal holder for the "Zuckerhut" (sugarloaf), a large conical mass of sugar around 7 inches in length. The sugar is soaked in rum and set alight, and rum is continually added with a ladle until all the sugar has melted and mixed with the wine. The rum must have a strength of at least 54% alcohol (per volume), as it would otherwise not burn properly. It is then served in mugs, in the same way as Glühwein, and the burner keeps the bowl warm until it is emptied.

The largest Feuerzangenbowle of the world ever was made in December of 2005 at the Isartor in Munich. 9000 litres were cooked in a copper boiler which was 3 metres tall and 2.5 metres wide. The earnings were donated to "Die Tafel", a non-profit providing food for the homeless.

The popularity of the drink has no doubt increased greatly with the famous German film comedy Die Feuerzangenbowle from the 1940's, starring Heinz Rühmann as writer Johannes Pfeiffer who, having had a bit too much of the magic drink, decides to dress up as a school student and goes back to school.