Classically one of the most divisive holiday staples eggnog has finally returned to its rightful place at the forefront of holiday tippling. Growing up in the 80’s my parents always had a carton of pasteurized egg nog at Christmastime. I would watch mom add rum and sprinkle nutmeg on top and I thought it was magical. Of course, it would be some time before I added rum to mine and then, well, it really was magical.
In my defense, I was a young man naive in the ways of bibulity. The nog of the egg has fully fallen to the depths of the capitalized cocktails akin to abominations that are neon appletinis and vodka red bulls. Furthermore, the nog has also suffered from the reputation of poor quality. Like those shots of Jose Cuervo in college that still keeps you from enjoying a fine anejo.
As with most of the unfortunate drinks that’ve garnered a bad reputation via poor quality when eggnog is done correctly it can be a wonderfully complex and versatile concoction. Eggnog should be homemade, with real eggs, and good spirits. To put one in good spirits.
Noggin’ it up hasn’t always been associated with Christmas, though. Egg drinks date back to the earliest days of colonial tippling. Most notably the flip, made with ale, rum, sugar and eggs, then boiled to a froth using a loggerhead. The loggerhead was a metal rod with a ball on the end that would be super-heated on a fire till glowing red then plunged into a bowl of flip resulting in the popping fizzing liquid subsequently poured into cups. If you’re just joining the podcast here’s a fun anecdote we’ve covered before. Sometimes intoxicated patrons would turn to using those metal rods as weapons leading to the phrase “coming to loggerheads.”
The earliest written mention of Eggnog was in 1801, by 1860 it had spread in popularity, and sometime around 1871 was firmly in place as a winter staple, especially at Christmastime. However, despite not being printed, eggnog was in fashion way before 1801.
Perhaps the most prolific purveyor of pasteurized partaking was none other than general George Washington. We go on a fascinating deep dive into George's love for the nog in our Christmas 2020 episode featuring a short play I wrote performed very poorly by myself, the only redeeming quality being help from Mrs. Podtiki. Notwithstanding my lackluster VO work there's a lot of good info in there. I’ve always sworn by the famous Washington recipe. I recreate it every year. But like most cocktail history, and American history at that, it’s not without controversy.
Ol’ GW died in 1799, calling into question the authenticity of the recipe in regard to the 1801 first recorded date. As I’m tired of revisionist history taking all the fun out of everything I was taught in elementary school I like to believe the recipe real, if maybe recorded later, a la new testament Gospels. We do have record of Washington's love for Jamaican rum, a spirit heavily utilized in the recipe attributed to him. Next you're gonna tell me he didn’t chop down cherry trees or have wooden teeth! Balderdash!
My inclination towards this topic aside, for our episode today we jump ahead about half a century to 1862 when the godfather of cocktails Jerry Thomas published his book, Bar-Tender's Guide: How to Mix Drinks or The Bon-Vivant's Companion.
Like the Hank Williams of his time Thomas didn’t create “the cocktail”, but he was first to write them down and create an oeuvre of methods, recipes, ingredients, and tools. One of the drinks forever etched into Americana by his nimble hand was eggnog.
Similar to most drinks of the day eggnog was initially made by the batch. Early bartenders began recognizing the necessity for drinks by the glass, especially during the busy Holiday season when the proverbial quick one is a commodity amid family visitations. Not to mention this was a time when the morning nip was not so frowned upon and eggnog made a lovely breakfast indulgence. Though the trend has seemingly made a resurgence with the brunch crowd, where mimosas and bloody marys have made pre-noon self medicating something of a modern pastime.
Nonetheless, the following recipe is Jerry Thomas’ single serving eggnog recipe.
1 tbsp fine white sugar
1 tbsp cold water
1 egg
2oz brandy
1oz rum
4oz milk
In a cocktail shaker dilute sugar in water. Fill tumbler half full of crushed ice and shake vigorously. Sprinkle nutmeg on top.
As is our custom here on pod tiki we go live to tape for Xmas. And this year we’re joined by special guest Chris Husak for a live tasting!
Chris is my co-host on the Share Your Buzz podcast as well as drummer-writer-singer for the Nashville based rock band Malibu Blackout.
*Please find the Pod Tiki Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, or podtiki.com to hear the rest of this episode!
Sources: Imbibe by David Wondrich