Whole egg, cream, milk, brandy, dark rum, fresh nutmeg. Made the morning of, refrigerated, drunk after dinner. Christmas in a glass.
Why you are pouring this tonight
Eggnog has a public relations problem. Most Australians under forty have only encountered the carton stuff at a Coles shelf in November and assumed the entire category was a beige liquid sold in a plastic jug to people who own a Christmas-themed jumper unironically. That is a tragedy. Real eggnog, made from raw whole egg, cream, milk, brandy and dark rum, with fresh nutmeg grated on the surface, is one of the great drinks of the cold half of the year. It is also a five-minute job that you can do in the morning and forget about until dinner.
The thing that separates a real eggnog from the carton imitation is the egg. The whole egg, not just the yolk. The white gives the drink its lift; the yolk gives it its body; the sugar dissolved in the yolk binds the spirits. Use eggs from a hen that has met daylight, the ones in the cardboard six-pack at the farmer’s market for $9, not the cage eggs at $4. The flavour difference is the same as cheddar versus tasty, and you only need two of them for the whole batch.
Use Hennessy VS for the brandy if you have it, or any decent VSOP cognac. For the rum, a dark Jamaican (Appleton Estate Signature at $55 from Dan Murphy’s) is the move. Avoid spiced rum. Spiced rum is brown sugar and cinnamon already added, and you will end up with something that tastes like a candle. We are not making a candle.
What to pour it alongside
End of dinner, with a slice of fruit cake or a wedge of dark chocolate, in a small glass. It is rich. A 90ml pour is the serve, not a 200ml brunch glass. Pair before pudding, after pudding, or in lieu of pudding for the kind of crowd who has had three courses and is now negotiating with themselves about a fourth. Also works as a sipper around an open fire if you live somewhere with one, or around a heater if you live in a Sydney terrace and the radiator is making the angry-clanking sound it makes in July.
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Whisk the yolks and sugar together first, hard, until pale and ribbony. This dissolves the sugar fully and emulsifies the whole drink. If you skip this step the sugar settles to the bottom and the eggnog tastes flat at the top and cloying at the bottom. Then whisk the egg whites separately until soft peaks, fold them into the yolk mixture, then pour in the milk, cream and spirits. Refrigerate for at least three hours, longer is better. Overnight is best. The flavour rounds out and the booze loses its raw edge.
Grate fresh nutmeg over each pour. Pre-ground nutmeg is the spice equivalent of pre-ground coffee: technically the same molecule, completely different drink. A whole nutmeg costs three dollars and lasts a year. Grate it on a small brass grater (or a microplane) directly over the surface of the drink so the oils hit the surface tension and bloom. The smell is half the eggnog. The smell is what makes people say “oh wait, what is this?” in the polite tone they reserve for things they thought they were going to dislike.
Two things that go wrong
Eggnog tastes raw and boozy
Not refrigerated long enough. The spirits need three hours minimum, ideally overnight, to round into the dairy. Pour it back into the jug, cover, and put it back in the fridge. Try again tomorrow. Eggnog is a make-the-day-before drink, not a serve-immediately drink.
Texture is grainy or split
You added the spirits to a hot dairy mix, or your dairy was too cold and the booze separated out. Whisk hard with a hand whisk to re-emulsify. If it does not come back together, blend in a high-speed blender for 15 seconds. The texture should be like a thin custard you can pour.
Variations worth knowing
Bourbon eggnog
Swap the brandy for a bonded bourbon (Wild Turkey 101 or Knob Creek). The drink becomes rounder, sweeter, more American. The classic American Christmas pour.
Aged eggnog (the experiment)
Make the full batch, leave it in a sealed jar in the fridge for 2 weeks before drinking. The eggs are pasteurised by the alcohol; the drink mellows into something completely different. Riskier, more rewarding, the project for someone who has read too much Cook’s Illustrated.
Vegan eggnog (the workaround)
Skip the eggs. Use 200ml soy or oat milk + 100ml coconut cream + 1 tbsp aquafaba whipped to soft peaks for the lift. The flavour will not be the same; it will be its own drink. Spice with extra nutmeg and cinnamon.
Leftovers and make ahead
Refrigerate for up to five days in a sealed jar. The flavour gets better, not worse. After five days the dairy starts to separate; whisk vigorously to bring it back if it has split. The eggnog also freezes for up to three months; thaw overnight in the fridge before serving and whisk before pouring.
Day-old eggnog poured over a slice of brioche, soaked for ten minutes, then fried in butter, becomes the most decadent French toast of your life. Top with maple syrup and a dusting of nutmeg. Tell your guests it is “eggnog French toast.” Take the credit.
The recipe
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