Eggnog: Nectar of the Gods

A history of the world’s greatest drink

For our first post in the history section, I wanted to write about something I am truly passionate about. So today we are going to be talking about eggnog. If for some reason you have lived a truly tortured existence and you don’t know what eggnog is, let me explain. Eggnog is a spiced heavy cream and egg-based beverage that is commonly served in the United States during the end-of-year holiday season, Christmastime in particular. Traditionally, eggnog is mixed with some alcohol. This is done for flavor and enjoyment but also because if made traditionally the alcohol is needed to make the uncooked eggs in the drink safe for consumption. (Now if you thought to yourself upon starting to read this article, “Yuck, eggnog is gross” it is probably time for you to have a long look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Why am I such a terrible person?”)

Eggnog (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Time Magazine summarized the drink's origins:

While culinary historians debate its exact lineage, most agree eggnog originated from the early medieval Britain “posset,” a hot, milky, ale-like drink. By the 13th century, monks were known to drink a posset with eggs and figs. Milk, eggs, and sherry were foods of the wealthy, so eggnog was often used in toasts to prosperity and good health.

For hundreds of years, posset remained largely unchanged. It wasn’t until the 17^th and 18^th centuries that eggs became more central to the drink, and it started to resemble eggnog as we know it. The beverage followed the English to North America and was widely consumed in the Thirteen Colonies even as it fell out of favor back in Europe. George Washington himself was a fan of the beverage (That’s right eggnog haters, if you and George Washington had known each other, he would have hated you, sleep on that.) The Washington family hosted lavish Christmas celebrations at their estate, Mount Vernon, that lasted for the Twelve Days of Christmas and eggnog was part of the festivities. George Washington’s recipe survives to this day:

One quart cream, one quart milk, one dozen tablespoons sugar, one pint brandy, 1/2 pint rye whiskey, 1/2 pint Jamaica rum, 1/4 pint sherry—mix liquor first, then separate yolks and whites of eggs, add sugar to beaten yolks, mix well. Add milk and cream, slowly beating. Beat whites of eggs until stiff and fold slowly into mixture. Let set in cool place for several days. Taste frequently.

I don’t drink alcohol, but I’ve read that Washington’s recipe is a particularly booze-heavy way to consume eggnog so beware. Washington, though, is not the only president with a taste for eggnog. President and American war hero Dwight D. Eisenhower also produced his own very 1950s-sounding recipe complete with time in the “ice box.” Let’s take a look:

1 dozen egg yolks

1 pound (450 g.) granulated sugar

1 quart bourbon (950 mL.) (part of which can be rum or brandy)

1 quart (950 mL.) coffee cream

1 quart (950 mL.) whipping cream

Put the dozen egg yolks in an electric mixer. Feed in the granulated sugar [1 lb/450 g.] very slowly as to get a completely smooth, clear light mixture. When this is perfectly smooth, begin to add the bourbon very slowly. (The process up to here would normally consume at least 30 minutes—with a good mixer.) Add one quart (950 mL.) of coffee cream.

Put the whole thing in the ice box until a half hour before serving at which time the whipping cream [one quart/950 mL.] should be beaten until only moderately thick. Be careful not to get it too thick. Mix it slowly into the mixture and serve with nutmeg.

If like myself you do not drink alcohol, fret not, I have some recipes of my own for you. First off, since the days of Eisenhower eggnog has been mass-produced and sold pre-made so you don’t have to make it from scratch. If you want to, or you have a craving outside of the holiday season, you can find a great non-alcoholic recipe here, but it is meticulous and has to be cooked at a low temperature for an extremely long time to kill harmful bacteria without accidentally making an omelet.

Darigold Eggnog (Source: Photo by Author)

The best store-bought brands in my opinion are Meadow Gold and Darigold (the Old Fashioned Recipe). You can, of course, just pour a glass and drink it but there are also some delightful mix-ins to try. The main two are 7-Up/Sprite and orange juice. Orange juice combined with the vanilla in the eggnog makes for the creamiest “Orange Julius” you will ever drink. If you are at all a fan of orange and vanilla taste combinations you absolutely have to try it. The lemon-lime soda combination produces a beverage that can only be described as drinking a citrusy cloud. The measurements are very important, your glass needs to be 3/4ths eggnog and 1/4^th mix-in or literally any other ratio you enjoy because the measurements don’t matter at all. Now lastly, some of you might be asking, isn’t drinking a drink that is basically heavy cream and eggs bad for your health? No, it’s not

I hope you have enjoyed our first lighthearted attempt at a history story (it was actually somewhat hard to research, eggnog studies is an underserved field in academia). I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season and I hope you enjoy a copious amount of eggnog before the dark days of January come and it disappears once more.

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