A few years ago I went on a search for an eggnogg recipe as find most store bought varieties quite disgusting.
As I love vintage I ended up adapting a recipe from Esquire’s Handbook for Hosts that was originally published in 1949. Below is my variation on “Old Virgina Eggnog.” I’ve left in a few of their choice instructions starting off with the description from the eggnog section:
“To tradition-steeped Christmas celebrants, the season would be bleak unless thickly upholstered with Eggnog”
6 eggs, new born
1 cup granulated sugar (I usually put slightly less)
1 cup Grande Marnier
1 cup Metaxa (or whatever brandy you have)
1 cup dark rum
2 cups light cream
2 cups whip cream
4 cups whole milk
Vanilla (to taste)
Nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice (to taste)
Separate the eggs and beat the yolks relentlessly while adding the sugar until they are a pale yellow. Add the liquor, dairy, vanilla and spices. Place in fridge overnight. When ready to serve beat the egg whites until stiff and fold this side show into the main show. Partakers will need spoons as this calls for spadework.
Every year I make this nog slightly differently, sometimes I use Metaxa, sometimes bourbon or cognac. I vary the spices and to make it thicker I’ve beaten the whip cream before adding it in. Let me know what your favourite variations are!
