25 Eggnog Recipes That Make The Holidays Taste So Good (2024)

FAQs

How do you enhance store bought eggnog? ›

Top each glass with a dash of nutmeg (freshly grated is best) and a pinch of finely grated orange zest. Serve and enjoy, preferably near a crackling fireplace.

In the 1700s, rum from the Caribbean was the American eggnog alcohol of choice. But it was scarce during the revolution, so it was traded out for moonshine. This might explain why it became associated with the Christmas season. It warmed up drinkers in the cold weather, and true eggnog called for expensive liquor.

Shaking eggnog with ice dilutes it just a little. This helps turn the volume down on its inherent sweetness and thins it so it's not tacky thick, and viscous. It gets your eggnog nicely chilled too, which helps the store-bought stuff taste less sticky sweet.

Made with the typical ingredients (minus the alcohol), you'll also find thickeners and stabilizers, artificial colors and flavors; some are also sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.

They found, unanimously, that aged nog was mellower and smoother than fresh nog. Similarly, Alton Brown says that "the longer the nog ages, the more mellow it will get." In The Art of Eating, Holly Jennings found three-week nog to be "rounder, smoother, and noticeably more complex."

Evan Williams Egg Nog

Our Original Southern Egg Nog is made with smooth Kentucky Bourbon and real dairy cream.

Egg-cellent Eggnog Tips

Rum – I like dark rum in eggnog (Myers's is what I usually buy), but spiced rum would also be fabulous. Whiskey – I typically use Crown Royal, but use what you like or keep on hand.

But if you want to opt for an eggnog that does all the boozy work for you, Pennsylvania Dutch is your best bet. Each bottle contains rum, brandy, and blended whiskey. And our experts could definitely taste all three of them.

Traditionally made with eggs, cream, milk, and sugar, no one would say that eggnog is a healthy drink. Even a small serving can pack significant amounts of calories, fat, saturated fat, and added sugars. And then there's the fact that homemade eggnog made with raw eggs can be a food-poisoning risk.

Why is egg nog so expensive? ›

Canadian chef Heidi Fink states that one of the reasons people are making less homemade eggnog is that the beverage is expensive to make, due to its use of substantial quantities of cream, eggs, and spirits. Concerns about the safety of raw eggs may be another reason for the decline in homemade eggnog making.

Why don't dairy manufacturers make eggnog all year long? It doesn't sell. Demand for eggnog follows traditional consumption patterns that date back hundreds of years.

If you love thick, rich and sweet eggnog, this one Won't let you down. Has an extra spicy nutmeg, cinnamony zest that spreads joy. “Southern Comfort Eggnog!”

The drink first made its appearance in the American colonies in the 18th century, where both eggs and rum were plentiful. Eggnog was particularly popular around Christmastime because of its warm temperature and the addition of flavors, like cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla bean, that embodied the winter season.

1. Southern Comfort Traditional Eggnog. And the winner for our favorite store-bought eggnog comes from Southern Comfort. This eggnog had a clear spice flavor that was warming and delicious and a thick and creamy texture that merited the melted ice cream comparison.

The bubblegum or banana flavor you mention in certain commercial eggnogs may be the result of specific artificial or natural flavorings used in their recipes. If you want to replicate that flavor in homemade eggnog, you can try experimenting with natural flavor extracts or essences.

Eggnog is usually served cold, but you may choose to heat it, especially if you're coming in from making snowmen or ice skating. And you can spike eggnog with a splash of brandy, rum or your spirit of choice, but it's also delicious simply spiked with vanilla or cinnamon.

Thanks to the warm spices traditionally served on top (like nutmeg, cinnamon and sometimes even cloves or star anise), eggnog also often tastes slightly spicy and perfumed, like all the lovely holiday baking ingredients.

Most eggnog is store bought and pasteurized, so it's unlikely that people get sick from bad eggnog.