Crock Pot Wassail Recipe (Wassail Punch)
This crock pot wassail is a warm wassail punch that tastes like tart cranberry juice simmered with cinnamon sticks. It keeps itself warm in the slow cooker, so you can set it out for a tree trimming party or a Christmas Eve open house and let everybody ladle their own. Mix it up to 3 days ahead. It takes 2 hours 5 minutes and serves 20.
I had never heard of Percolator Punch before I moved to Georgia. But I’m not so young that I don’t know what a percolator is.
Nowadays everyone has one of those single cup coffee makers. I have a coffee maker that brews 60 cups. (Yes, 60.) That’s perfect for a big batch of Percolator Punch. Not so convenient for everyone else.
Know what is convenient for everyone? A crockpot. More people own a crockpot than a 60 cup coffee percolator. So this is my crockpot version, and the percolator directions are down below for anybody else with a giant coffee maker in the pantry.
If you’re feeding a crowd this year, I’ve got more big batch Christmas punches right below.
More Christmas Punches for a Crowd
- Cranberry Sangria – red wine, brandy and cranberry juice with apples and fresh cranberries in the pitcher
- Pomegranate Sparkler – pomegranate juice and ginger ale with a splash of amaretto, by the bowl
- Pink Passion Party Punch – pink liqueur, vodka and two kinds of soda over ice
- Cherry Manhattan Punch – the classic bourbon and cherry cocktail stretched with orange sparkling water
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See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and their quantities.
Ingredient Notes
Pineapple Juice – Unsweetened if you can find it.
Whole Spices – Whole cloves, whole allspice and cinnamon sticks, all in a spice bag. I keep the spice mix simple so the fruit juices are the star. The bag also makes it easy to pull the spices out before you store leftovers.
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How To Make Crockpot Wassail
- In a 7 quart (or larger) slow cooker, add the cranberry, pineapple and apple juice. Stir in the brown sugar. Add the sliced lemon.
- Put the cloves, cinnamon sticks and allspice in a small spice bag and add it to the slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 2 hours, then turn it to warm and keep it warm while serving.
- To spike it, add 1 ounce of bourbon or rum to your glass for every 8 ounces of punch.
For the full recipe and detailed instructions, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
How To Make Percolator Punch
This is the Georgia version. It works in a big coffee percolator (I use my 60 cup).
- Add the juices and 3 cups of water to the percolator’s water reservoir.
- Put the brown sugar, lemon slices, cloves, allspice and cinnamon sticks in the basket where the coffee grounds usually go. Use a filter if your basket needs one.
- Turn it on and let the punch percolate all the way through before serving.
- Keep it on the warm setting while you serve.
The 3 cups of water is tested. Don’t skip it.
How To Make Spiked Wassail
Add the booze after the punch cooks, not while it simmers.
For a mixed crowd, keep the crockpot alcohol free and pour 1 ounce of bourbon or rum into each 8 ounce glass.
For an adults only party, add it straight to the crockpot right before serving. Use 3/4 to 1 ounce for every serving in the pot. A full batch is 20 servings, so that’s 15 to 20 ounces.
How To Store, Make Ahead and Reheat Wassail
Make Ahead: Mix it up to 3 days ahead and keep it in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, heat it and add the spice bag and lemon slices then.
Leftovers: Pull out the spice bag and lemon slices first. Then store it covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Reheat: Warm it in a pot on the stove. Add fresh lemon slices for garnish when you serve it again.
Wassail Variations
Apple Cider and Mulling Spices – Swap the apple juice for apple cider and the whole spices for a bag of my homemade mulling spices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Traditional wassail is a hot drink made with wine, beer or cider, plus spices, sugar and usually baked apples. It was served in a big bowl at Christmastime. The name started as a toast. It comes from the Old Norse “ves heill,” which means “be well.”
Mine skips the ale and the baked apples. It’s cranberry, pineapple and apple juice with brown sugar, lemon, cinnamon sticks, cloves and allspice. Booze is optional.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use a 7 quart slow cooker or bigger. Twenty cups of juice takes up a lot of room.
- Keep the spices in a muslin or spice bag. Fishing out loose cloves later is nobody’s idea of a party.
- Put the booze in the glass, not the pot, unless the whole party is adults.
- Garnish the mugs with orange slices, lemon slices and fresh cranberries.
- It’s traditionally served hot, but it’s good cold or at room temperature too.
More Crockpot Recipes for Holiday Parties
- Crockpot Hot Chocolate – milk, half and half and real chocolate bars, kept warm for refills
- Crockpot Peanut Clusters – no bake candy made right in the slow cooker for cookie trays and gift tins
- Crockpot BBQ Meatballs – frozen meatballs in a tangy, smoky steakhouse sauce
- Crock Pot Corn Dip – white corn and cream cheese with a little jalapeño and green onion
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please leave us a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five-star review in the comment section below. Thanks!
Crockpot Wassail – Percolator Punch
Ingredients
- 6 cups pineapple juice unsweetened if you can find it
- 8 cups cranberry juice
- 6 cups apple juice
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 lemon sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon cloves whole
- 6 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tablespoon allspice whole
Instructions
For a Slow Cooker or Crockpot
- In a 7-quart (or larger) slow cooker, add the cranberry, pineapple, and apple juice.
- Stir in the brown sugar.
- Add the sliced lemon.
- In a small spice bag, add the cloves, cinnamon sticks, and allspice.
- Add spice bag to the slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 2 hours then turn to warm and keep warm while serving.
- If you would like to add some holiday "spirit" to your crockpot winter punch, add 1 ounce of bourbon or rum to your glass for every 8 ounces of punch.
- Enjoy the Wassail – Crockpot Winter Punch in your belly and the festive smell in your house as it simmers.
For a Percolator
- Add the juices and 3 cups of water to a coffee pot water reservoir.
- Add the brown sugar, lemons, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon sticks to the basket where you usually place the coffee grounds with a filter if needed.
- Turn on and let the punch percolate fully before serving.
- Keep on the warm setting while serving.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Make ahead: Mix up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate. Add the spice bag and lemon when you heat it.
- Leftovers: Remove the spice bag and lemon first. Fridge up to 2 days. Reheat in a pot on the stove and add fresh lemon to garnish.
- Spiked: 1 oz bourbon or rum per 8 oz glass. Or, for adults only, 3/4 to 1 oz per serving stirred into the pot right before serving.
- Swap: Apple cider for the apple juice, mulling spices for the whole spices.
- Serving: Hot, cold or room temperature.
Nutrition
{Originally published 08/22/18 – photos and recipe notes updated 10/19/26}
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I absolutely love warm cocktails like this one!! The way you did the lemon slices with the cloves? So pretty!!
This is a great no-fuss punch for entertaining, and the flavors continue to enhance as the ingredients meld together. Thanks for sharing this festive punch!
This sounds like such a cozy drink! Perfect for a Christmas party!
This was really great and easy. Thank you.
So glad you liked it!
Would you say that it’s not good to let the alcohol simmer all day? I’m making this for an adults only party, so it would be much more convenient for me to just add the alcohol right to the crockpot….
I could also do that right before serving. Do you have any advice for how much to add?
You can add right before serving. I would add 3/4 to 1 ounce per serving you have in the pot. Happy holidays!