Way back in time, just after the earth’s crust hardened and I was still in high school, my family would often venture to a friend’s home for an early evening, get New Year’s Eve started off right party.
It was a family affair, with lots of kid and teen friendly food and drink, though there was an amazingly well-stocked bar for the grown ups, tended by GR’s dad who was never-failingly a very happy and slightly tipsy barkeep by the time we arrived.
Another fixture of the event was GR’s grandmother, pleasantly plump and fluttering non-stop in and out of the kitchen, seemingly every trip with yet another classic Southern party provision – every single one of which I recall as being damned tasty (if not a bit quirky).
She also presided over the family eggnog bowl, which was never seen to be less than half full despite it being the most popular station on their grande buffet. With a team effort and application of a judicious distraction of some sort, we never failed to steal a cup or two before we officially old enough to have Grandma serve us her eggnog cocktail carefully ladled into a china teacup.
Years later, GR finally spilled the beans and shared the recipe.
There are a host of made from scratch eggnog recipes out there, and yes – most are relatively similar, though this seems to be the one we keep coming back to time and time again. If your clan doesn’t have a family favorite, give this one a spin over the next 10 days and see what you think.
6 eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1 quart whole milk (don’t even think about anything else here)
1 pint heavy cream
8 ounces bourbon
4 ounces spiced rumGarnish: freshly grated nutmeg
Beat the egg yolks and half a cup of sugar until silky smooth and light in color. Stir in the milk, heavy cream, bourbon and rum.
In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar (1/4 cup) until they form soft peaks; gently fold about half into the yolk and booze mixture.
Serve in punch cups (GR’s grandmother used tea cups) with a dash of the freshly grated nutmeg on top. Fold in more egg whites as desired to lighten the cocktail up a bit if you’re in that sort of mood (or your guests are).
Cheers and enjoy.
