Meet the artist and learn about the Glühwein tradition

So why is a guy who lives down in Pensacola, Florida creating a Glühwein mug for Cincinnati, and why start with Over the Rhine?

I am a Cincinnati native, born and raised in Loveland, just a short distance from downtown Cincinnati. In 1988 I graduated from Moeller High School and moved around for a bit, I went to an Art College in Columbus, moved sound a bit to Hawaii, Kentucky, West Virginia, and eventually settled in Pensacola in 1999 where I still reside. My daughter was born here and I will probably never move back to Cincinnati, but the city will always be my hometown.

The Hamilton family has a very long history with the lands where Cincinnati sits. Before it was even a town, my family had a farm where Fountain Square now sits. I have found a book that details how Hamilton County was named after my family’s Ancestors rather than Alexander Hamilton as is currently thought. After all, why would a County in Ohio, name itself after a man who had no ties to the area, and had only been serving as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury for barely a year?

My father, Kenneth Earl Hamilton, was born and raised in the Over The Rhine area of Cincinnati with his single mom, Hazel. He never knew who his father was and I only recently found out through Ancestry DNA. His father tragically died in a fire on Christmas Eve in 1936, so he would not have gotten to meet him anyway. And from some stories I have heard from his family, he wasn’t a very good man anyway. My dad spent most of his time playing and getting into mischief at Washington Park as he had lived in several homes over the years in the area. One of the only stories from his childhood that I remember was of him searching the nearby bars with his best friend to locate his mom. I don’t think my dad had the easiest childhood as he never spoke much about it.

I was fortunate however, I look back on my childhood with great fondness. My parents did the best they could with what little they had. Looking back, I am amazed at how well they did in providing me with a good upbringing in the great small town of Loveland.

It’s a long and winding road of how I got to Pensacola so I am going to just skip ahead. After being around the German Heritage that is prevalent throughout Cincinnati, I wanted to bring a little of that heritage to Pensacola. I did that in the form of Glühwein mugs.

For those of you who are wondering what Glühwein mugs are, here is a quick synopsis.

Germans are world famous for their extravagant Christmas Markets (aka Christkindlemarkts in Germany). At the markets, there is a long-held tradition of drinking warm mulled wine to relieve the biting cold of winter as you stroll past opulently decorated vendor stalls. Germans refer to this wine as Glühwein, translated to English as Glow Wine. Named appropriately for the warm glow you get from taking a drink on a cold winter evening. And as much as the wine itself is a tradition, so are the keepsake mugs they serve it in. People collect them from year to year and from all the various markets across Germany. Each mug design is a unique work of art for that specific market or town. For people who prefer a non-alcoholic drink, hot apple cider is the go-to substitute.

I started creating the Glühwein mugs for Pensacola in 2022 and did them again in 2023. The mugs are a great success. And this year instead of the 500 I did in past years, I’m going out on a limb and doing 1000 for each, Pensacola and Cincinnati. I opted not to do the years on Cincinnati mugs, but instead, I am doing different neighborhoods each year, with this year being the Over the Rhine neighborhood.

On the Over-the-Rhine-themed mug is Old St. Mary’s Church, the Oldest Church in Cincinnati and the first German parish. Cincinnati Music Hall is also featured on the mug, I am just enamored by its architecture, and it has been by far the most intricate building I have drawn to date. Finally, I decided upon the Findlay Market to place on the mug to finish the design. Everyone who has spent any time in or around Cincinnati has probably been to this market. I used to visit quite a bit with my parents, and now as an adult, it is a must-visit when I come home.

A little “Easter Egg” located on the mug’s design is the tiny snowman with the Bengals scarf next to Findlay Market. I always like to incorporate hidden things in my designs.

So there you have it. A very long answer to the question of “why?” I hope this year’s Cincinnati Over-the-Rhine mugs are as well received as my Pensacola mugs are, and I look forward to meeting a lot of Glühwein and Christmas fans at the Findlay Christmas Markets where I am planning on setting up and selling my mugs!

“Being raised in Cincinnati, and of German descent, I aimed to bring an icon of the German Christmas Market culture to Cincinnati. These mugs are made in Germany, printed in the U.S., and I personally sketched the artwork using modern digital techniques. My hope is to turn this into a lasting annual tradition that the Cincinnati community can enjoy for years to come.”

Frohe Weihnachten, Randy Hamilton

The mugs are a limited print run and only 1000 are created. Each mug is hand-signed and numbered. They are a standard Glühwein mug size that holds 6.7 fl oz or 0,2 l.

For a printable version of this description of the Glühwein mugs to include with a mug you are gifting or just for yourself click here ››