Today, let’s step away from the world of wine and dive into another revered liquid: whisky. More specifically, I’d like to take you to Islay — a small Island west of Glasgow that is famous for its natural beauty and peated whisky. I had the chance to spend a few unforgettable days on this magical island, just in time for the Fèis Ìle whisky festival, that had connoisseurs of the peaty pour come from far and wide in pursuit of the perfect dram.

As the days grow shorter and Christmas decorations begin to light up our streets, the festive spirit comes alive. With the start of Advent, Christmas markets are finally opening in most places, bringing with them the delightful aromas of Bratwurst, Raclette, gingerbread, and — of course — Glühwein. But what makes a good Glühwein, and can you make it at home?

Mulled wine, or Glühwein as it’s known in German-speaking countries, is essentially spiced wine and can be made with either red or white wine as the base. To the wine, you add a variety of spices — usually seasonal ones like cinnamon, star anise, and cloves — to give it more depth and warmth. You can also incorporate fruit juices, most commonly orange juice, to make the Glühwein a bit easier to drink and to add sweetness and acidity. Some people prefer to give it a little extra kick by adding a shot of rum, brandy, cognac, or other liqueurs.

The past years heralded the advent of the age of AI and though some scepticism is certainly justified, there’s no denying that many of these tools have proven to be incredibly useful. Among the most practical applications are AI-powered chatbots, such as ChatGPT, Bing/Copilot, Gemini, and Grok. These bots excel at processing natural language queries (like “What temperature should I cook my steak at?”), leveraging generative AI models to craft responses, and delivering answers in a variety of formats—text, tables, images, and more.