The History of Eggnog

One of my guilty pleasures during Christmas is Eggnog. One of my first memories as a child (around 6 years old) was sitting in my parent's living room, playing with newly opened toys when my grandfather yelled from the bar, “Who's ready for some nog?”

“What booze did you put in it?” my dad asked.
“White Rum,” Grandad replied which makes sense now since he lived in the Florida Keys at the time.
“I'll pass,” dad started. “I'll just take a bloody Mary.”

I stood from my play area and went over to the bar. My grandfather pulled out two mason jars of Eggnog. It was so watered down with booze that it had the consistency of water.

“One day I'll teach you the recipe,” my grandfather said looking down at me, holding the jars in his huge hands.
“Don't teach him how to make that stuff” my mom said. “I don't know how you drink it.”
My grandfather smiled, poured some into a rocks glass, patted me on the head and said, “Drink up and don't tell your mother.”

That day I learned two things: One, it's not a lie if you don't tell anyone about it and two, never give a six year old rum mixed with eggs, milk and sugar. It burns going down and coming back out.

Years later, when I was in high school, my uncle (on mom's side) came over for Christmas day with a similar brown bag and placed it on the bar. He pulled two of the same jars out and unscrewed the caps. It had the same watery consistency as my grandfather's recipe.

“You like bourbon or rum?” my uncle asked.
“Not sure,” I replied seeing as how I was 14 years old and only had a few beers by then.
“You'll like this,” my uncle said. “It's bourbon.”

I took a swig and it stayed down. I tried more and then finished the glass. It burned as it had when I was a kid, but I was able to keep it down. That day I learned two things: one, I liked bourbon and, two, I liked eggnog after all and it became a holiday treat throughout college and into adulthood. I created my own recipe and served it to guests when I was bartending in school.Now that I'm doing this blog thing, I figured I would actually look up the history of this holiday delight.

Technically, eggnog or egg nog is a sweetened, dairy-based beverage made with raw eggs (beaten for the frothy texture), milk or cream, sugar, and spiked with liquor (mainly brandy, rum, whiskey, bourbon, cognac, or even moonshine). The concoction is usually garnished with a sprinkling of ground cinnamon or nutmeg.

Eggnog is a popular in the US and Canada during the winter celebrations such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year. Commercial non-alcoholic eggnog is typically available only in the winter season but it can be made other at other times from homemade recipes such as the one passed down from my grandfather. Since the 1960s, eggnog has often been served cold and without spirits, both of which are significant departures from its historical origins.

One school of history believes that eggnog originated in East Anglia, England. Another believes it was derived from “posset,” a medieval European beverage made with hot milk. The "nog" portion of the name comes from the word "noggin", a Middle English term used to describe a small, carved wooden mug used to serve alcohol.

Another story is that the term derived from "egg and grog", a common Colonial term used for the drink made with rum, “Grog meaning booze. Eventually that term was shortened to "egg'n'grog", then "eggnog.”

At the time of it's inception, the ingredients for the drink were expensive in England and it became popular mainly among the aristocracy since the average Londoner was so poor that they could barely afford milk – not to mention the brandy or Madeira or even sherry to mix with it.
When the drink crossed the Atlantic to the English colonies during the 18th century, the main alcoholic ingredient changed since brandy and wine were heavily taxed. Rum from trading with the Caribbean was a better, cost-effective substitute. With the new farm land complete with dairy products in the new world and a new, inexpensive liquor, the drink become very popular in America. Americans turned to domestic whiskey, and eventually bourbon in particular, as a substitute when the supply of rum was reduced as a consequence of the American Revolutionary War.

And there you have it. A quick history of eggnog. Pick it up next year and don't forget to spike it, but don't give it out to toddlers!