Eggnog
Holiday classic
American holiday canonical. Dense, creamy, nutmeg-crowned. George Washington's recipe famously called for brandy, rye, Jamaican rum, and sherry together; modern single-spirit versions use bourbon (our default), brandy, or dark rum interchangeably. Brandy is a classical-leaning substitute — swap 1:1 for a softer, more historical profile.
Ingredients
- 2 oz Bourbon
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 3/4 oz Simple Syrup
- 3 oz Milk
- 1 oz Cream
Method
Combine bourbon (or brandy / dark rum as substitutes), egg yolk, simple syrup, milk, and cream in a shaker filled with ice. Shake hard for 15 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Grate fresh nutmeg generously over the top.
Isaac Weld documented eggnog in his 1800 travelogue Travels through the States of North America as "new milk, eggs, rum, and sugar, beat up together," based on his 1795–1797 American travels. Jonathan Boucher, an Anglican clergyman, recorded "egg-nogg" in a poem written around 1774 (first published circa 1833, roughly 30 years after his 1804 death). Per Difford's Guide #4708. Notes: The widely circulated "George Washington recipe" is modern fabrication, likely originating from The Old Farmer's Almanac (1989) or possibly Harnett T. Kane's Southern Christmas Book (1958); Mount Vernon archives contain no eggnog recipe attributed to Washington.
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