Project: Eggnog (aborted)

mason — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 17:23:59 +0000

Yeah, so I got really sick over the holidays, forcing me to curtail my alcohol consumption. Didn’t even get any champagne. Blah. So…. PE will have to wait until next year.

Project: Eggnog (overview)

mason — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 06:06:11 +0000

Ahh, eggnog. Nothing really captures the spirit of Christmas for me like preparing my traditional holiday eggnog mix – take a coffee cup, fill it 75% full of eggnog, then stir in brandy until full. Happy effing Holidays.

I got to wondering about the authenticity of this drink, and whether I’ve been missing out on an even better way to enjoy it. Some internet searching revealed no less than a dozen different eggnog mixes. Some of them involve apricot brandy, rum, and/or bourbon. One has sherry in it. It would seem that even after 200 years, the perfect eggnog question is far from answered. And these are just the survivors. How many eggnog recipies have been lost on the winds of time?

These dozen final contenders must each be bringing something interesting. So, in a desperate bid for Cuttlefish Content, I’ve decided to create, consume, and blog about each one.

All drinks will be given a floating point number between 0 and 1, with 1 being “Perfect Eggnoggity.” Eggnoggity shall be determined using a top secret formula that takes into account ease of preparation, taste, consistency, and the awesomeness of the liquor(s) involved (sherry: not nearly as awesome as Jamaica rum).

Plain eggnog scores a Perfect Eggnoggity (PE) factor of 0.3, because in general alcohol makes eggnog better. My 75/25 mix comes in right around 0.8 PE.

The contestants will be as follows:

Ambassador’s Morning Lift

1 qt prepared dairy eggnog or eggnog batter
6 oz cognac
6 oz Jamaica rum
6 oz creme de cacao

Combine in large mixing bowl. Stir well. Brandy or Bourbon can be used as a substitute for cognac.

Baltimore Eggnog

1 qt prepared dairy eggnog or eggnog batter
5 oz brandy
5 oz Jamaica rum
5 oz Madeira wine