Hot Cranberry Cider Punch - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 cups cranberry juice (32 oz bottle)
4 cups apple cider
1 (12 ounce) can apricot nectar
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon whole allspice
4 cloves, whole
1/4 inch piece peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced
3 slices orange peel
3 slices lemon peel
2 -6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup rum
4 tablespoons butter

Preparation

In large pan combine cranberry juice, cider, nectar, spices, orange and lemon peel.
Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered 20-30 minutes.
Remove from heat, strain through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth.
Taste punch and sweeten accordingly. Apple Cider and Cranberry Juice vary greatly in sweetness - you may need no sugar, or you may need a little more than listed.
Add rum and butter, stirring until butter melts. Or, if having a non-alcoholic alternative is desirable, hold off on adding the rum to the entire punch and add 1 to 2 tbsp of rum to each mug, then fill to the rim with hot punch.