Shared to SSW by Kolby Howard
Someone say egg nog? All jokes aside this is probably the best drink recipe I have, so I share it a few times during the holiday season. These were batched up to give as a year-end gift to key accounts/overall cool people.
My recipe is based on Alton Brown's, please add, take away, and experiment however you see fit.
First some history for ya!
There is a long tradition of drinking eggnog in America that starts back in the 1760s. The drink probably evolved from an English drink called a “posset” which was made with hot milk and with wine or ale and flavored with spices. A 17th-century recipe for “My Lord of Carlisle’s Sack Posset” calls for heated cream, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, and eggs with a pint of Sack wine. In America, rum was the spirit of choice during colonial times, but after the American Revolution rum was scarce, so whiskey was used. By the late 19th century, brandy, rum, and whiskey were all being used in eggnog, depending upon where it was being made. Some recipes called for using two or even all three of these spirits in their eggnog. In 1911, The Wine and Spirits Bulletin of Louisville, Ky. published a booklet called Beverages De Luxe. In this booklet, they give the recipe for eggnog from the Pendennis Club. After Prohibition, in 1935, the Old Mr. Boston De Luxe Official Bartender’s Guide was first published. It was soon found in bars and taverns across the nation. In the 1957 copy I have, there are a total of 10 recipes for eggnog. They are: Baltimore eggnog, Brandy eggnog, Breakfast eggnog, Christmas Yule eggnog, Cider eggnog, General Harrison’s eggnog, Port wine eggnog, Rum eggnog, Sherry eggnog, and Whiskey eggnog.
What you’ll need
12 Eggs
1 pound sugar
1-pint whole milk
1 pint half and half
1-pint heavy cream
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon allspice
2 cups woodford reserve bourbon
1 cup Stravecchio Brandy
1/2 cup Carpano Antica
1/2 cup Fernet-Branca
1/2 cup St Elzibeth's allspice dram
Separate the eggs and store the whites for another application.
Beat the yolks with the sugar and spice mixture in a large mixing bowl until the mixture lightens in color and falls off the whisk in a solid ribbon.
Combine dairy, booze, and salt in a second bowl or pitcher, and then slowly beat into the egg mixture.
Move to a large glass jar (or a couple of smaller ones) and store it in the fridge for a minimum of 2 weeks. A month would be better, and 2 better still. There’s nothing that says you couldn’t age it a year, but I’ve just never been able to wait that long. And yes, you can also drink it right away.
Serve in mugs or cups topped with a little extra nutmeg grated on top, or a cinnamon stick.