Egg Nog

[barturtle]

Of course it's the holidays and many people have egg nog sitting around the house, so I thought I'd see what everyone does with it-alcohol related of course.

Now I know most people put whiskey in it, but I put my post in the non-whiskey area because I made an interesting mix tonight. After opening my last bottle of Sam Adams Triple Bock, and finding it had a bad cork and was disappointingly undrinkable, I decided I still needed a dessert-style drink. Though I drank some WT RR 101 spiked egg nog while cooking today, that didn't seem to be where I wanted to go. Looking in the fridge I saw a bottle of Guiness Extra Stout and the jug of egg nog had seemed to migrate towards each other, and I thought "what the hell, an ounce of each to try it won't hurt"- at first I thought that this was going to be an ugly-looking drink, but it mixed to a nice chocolate milk color. This is a suprisingly drinkable combo, though I think it might be better with the beer I use for beer floats (Yes, beer and ice cream) Stoney Creek Vanilla Porter.

I think I've been paying too much attention to the Gillmanizing posts and suddenly see everything as having possiblities.

[Gillman]

This is a very logical and historically justifiable thing to do. The old English drinks from the countryside, the heated flips and such, were mixtures of eggs, milk or cream, spices and ale (or wine of some kind) often stirred, shaken or poured to a froth from cups suspended in each hand. You've created the same thing, except a cold, still version - just as Americans drink cold tea instead of hot tea - but it's still tea.

Everything old is new again - and I didn't invent that either.

By the way, although the beer float is often said to a creation from the early days of microbrewing, in fact it predates that. I have a friend in his 60's who recalls that guys in his fraternity made the same thing (beer poured over vanilla ice cream scoops) in the 1950's. Just a modern version (but also an echo) of those old English country drinks which came over on the Mayflower.

Gary

[barturtle]

Thanks Gary. I just love having historical precedents to justify my insanity.

[AVB]

I've been making this for the past few years.

George Washington Eggnog, From the files at Mt. Vernon

1 pint brandy

1/2 pint rye whiskey

1/2 pint Jamaica rum

1/4 pint sherry

8 eggs

12 Tbsp sugar

1 qt milk

1 qt cream

Mix liquors first, then separate yolks and whites of eggs. Beat yolks and add sugar, mixing well. Add liquor to mixture slowly, continuing to beat. Add milk and cream, slowly beating. Beat whites of eggs until stiff and fold slowly into mixture. Chill thoroughly.

[kbuzbee]

What do you use for the sherry (or does it matter?)?

Ken

[AVB]

I don't think it matters. I use whatever the wife has open.

[AVB]

I've made Baltimore Egg Nog a few times, you might like it better. This is per glass.

1 oz Jamaican Rum

1 oz Brandy

1 oz Madeira

1 whole Egg

1 tsp Powdered Sugar

3/4 cup Milk

Directions:

Shake all ingredients well with cracked ice and strain into a Collins glass (12 oz). Sprinkle nutmeg on top and serve.

[barturtle]

A pair of good looking recipes, thanks. Does the George Washington hold for a day or two? Maybe if I used an egg substitute?

[AVB]

I've never had the Washington last that long to have to hold over so that is a question I can't answer. I make it about noon for an evening get together and it is gone by clean-up time. The Baltimore I've kept over night in the fridge and it seems to be OK but usually I make it in the blender and keep that in the fridge to pour out as needed.

Never tried egg substitute in either so I can't say what it will do to the taste/consistency.

[JeffRenner]

Here is my family recipe for egg nog as posted originally to HomeBrew Digest in 2000 and reposted in 2003 with an update as to the origin of the recipe and another update about raw eggs. It is very popular with homebrewers around the country and even in other countries, and has been reprinted in many homebrew club newsletters.

I made a comment about premium bourbons being better, but I still like Old Forester just fine. Perhaps in 2000 I was a little more impressed with premium bourbons or less impressed with Dad's regular bourbon. It is still my regular pour - the BiB, that is.

I hope that the readers of this forum enjoy it as much as the HBDers have.

Jeff

=====

My father was not a big drinker or a cook, but he was famous among friends and family for his egg nog. It had a kick. It was an old recipe that he modified (probably increased the booze!) from one in a magazine ad for Four Roses Blended Bourbon in the 1930's or 40's. Straight bourbon is much to be preferred.

Last evening I took a double batch to a potluck party. I made a further modification - an inadvertent, serendipitous mistake, that made it much better as a casual drinking egg nog. I used twice the proper amount of half and half (resulting in proportionally half the eggs, sugar and liquor). Strangely, it seemed still to be well balanced. The original one is twice as strong and is a wonderful drink, but the flavor of the liquor is more evident and it must be drunk with more caution. More like a cocktail, I guess. I like them both, but I think that the milder one is better suited to casual drinking, especially by people who don't like the full flavor of whiskey. And they are both easy enough to make that you'll never buy that horrible stuff from the grocery store again.

Harry Renner's Egg Nog

6 eggs, separated

3/4 cup sugar (set aside 1/4 cup)

1 qt. cereal milk [apparently an old name for half and half] or one pint each milk and whipping cream

1 cup straight bourbon

2 oz. Jamaican dark rum

Beat egg whites until stiff, fold or beat in 1/4 cup sugar. Set aside. Beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar, fold into egg white mix. Add cereal milk, bourbon and rum. Serve topped with grated nutmeg.

The mistake I made was to use a *quart* each of skim milk and whipping cream (actually I made a double batch; or was it a quadruple?).

Dad always used Myer's rum and Old Forester bourbon, but if you are making it full strength and will be able to taste the liquor, better bourbon will make a difference. Two years ago we used Knob Creek (~$25) and the difference was remarkable. Jim Beam Black Label (~$15) or Wild Turkey 101 (~$18) would be two other, less expensive, but still somewhat premium choices. Of course, these three are higher proof, so drink accordingly. I suspect there are better choices than Myer's rum, too, but it has served us well.

And now an amusing anecdote for your holiday enjoyment:

Scene: a streetcar in Cincinnati, circa 1950.

Characters: Little four-year-old Jeff and his grandma, returning from downtown Christmas shopping, and other passengers.

Jeff, in a loud voice: "Grandma, don't forget you said that you

needed to stop and get rummy for the egg noggin!"

Grandma and passengers laugh.

Jeff feels very embarrassed and the memory is seared in his brain, even though no one else remembers.

Happy holidays!

Jeff

=================

Among the people I sent it to was Gary Regan, author of a number of fine books on whiskies and cocktails (http://www.ardentspirits.com).

He sent me this email:

Hi Jeff:

I wrote to Dale DeGroff, and sure enough, the original recipe came from a relative of his! Here's what he wrote back:

Hi Gary,

The recipe that Jeff's dad adapted from the Four Roses ad was My Grandmother's brother's recipe. He submitted the recipe to them in some kind of contest and the four Roses Pr people or who ever handled the advertising in those days sent a release for him to sign for its use on the bottle and in ads. His name was Dominic Gencarelli, he owned a Granite quarry in Rhode Island among other things. He was an engineer and figured out a way to build stone jettys into the ocean without renting barges and tugboats. His Italian stone cutters cut the stone in the quarry in such a way that on side the stone was flat and the trucks could drive out on the jetty as it was being built. he built a lot of the jettys along the east coast especially in New England, but some here on Long Island as well.

He always had two bowls of the punch at Christmas, one for the kids and one for the grown-ups...here is the recipe, and incidentally what made the recipe special was its lightness twice as much milk as cream and the white of the egg whipped stiff and folded in to the mix, so it was almost like clouds on top of the egg nog.

EGG NOG (Uncle Angelo's) 1 batch (6 people)

6 eggs (separated)

1 qt. milk

1 pint cream

1 tbsp. ground nutmeg

3/4 cup sugar

3 oz. bourbon

3 oz. spice rum

Beat egg yolks well until they turn light in color, adding half a cup of sugar as you beat. Add milk, cream and liquor to finished yolks. Then beat egg whites until they peak. Fold whites into mixture. Grate fresh nutmeg over drink.

Cheers

Dale DeGroff

aka "http://www.kingcocktail.com/index.html" King Cocktail

=====

And then a final note from HBD after my posting of this recipe last year:

Subject: Re: Raw Eggs and Salmonella

Brewers

A self described HBD lurker wrote me privately regarding my egg nog recipe:

“Aren't you running a risk of salmonella poisoning with the use of raw eggs? In the past, this may not have been an issue but I believe it is one today.

“Having come very close to losing a daughter during the salmonella outbreak in Chicago 17 years ago, I freely admit to being paranoid about the risk.â€

Thanks for pointing this out. As a parent, I can only imagine how that would affect your feelings.

I continue to use raw eggs in egg nog (and eat sunny egg yolks when I occasionally eat fried eggs). I have based my evaluation of risk on Mark Bittman's wonderful newish (1998) cookbook, "How to Cook Everything" (winner of multiple cookbook writing awards):

"As for salmonella and eggs: Recent statistics indicate that a small number of eggs (about one in ten thousand, or fewer) may contain the salmonella bacteria. If this bacteria multiplies - unlikely in refrigerated uncracked eggs - and you eat the egg raw (as you would in mayonnaise) or undercooked (as you would in many eggs cooked for breakfast), you might become ill, suffering intestinal problems that are as bad as the flu. The very young, very old, or those with compromised immune systems may have even worse problems and should avoid recipes with raw or undercooked eggs. But the general population should consider eggs safe, and eat them without fear, especially if they have been handled properly."

The government, of course, takes the very cautious approach http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/salment_g.htm, but notes that the risk is highest (1 in 10,000) in the northeast.

For less cautious view see http://www.mercola.com/2002/nov/13/eggs.htm.

[AVB]

Great recipes that I'll have to add to my collection. Thanks!