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National Egg Nog Day is December 24th. But you can enjoy the rich holiday beverage from Thanksgiving through New Year’s. You can also make it a compound noun, eggnog instead of egg nog.
While the origins of egg nog are debated, it may have originated from posset, a medieval European beverage made with hot milk and white wine. Americans adapted it but used the New World liquor rum, and later, bourbon (which evolved to its present form in the late 19th century). Cider was also used.
George Washington was quite a fan of egg nog and devised his own recipe that included rye whiskey, rum, and sherry.
We know that there are eggs in egg nog, but what’s the “nog?” Opinions differ, but it’s an American name.
In Colonial America, rum was commonly called “grog,” and the descriptive term for the drink, “egg-and-grog,” may have corrupted to egg ‘n’ grog and then to egg nog.
Other experts insist that the “nog” is short for “noggin,” a small, carved wooden mug used to serve drinks in taverns.
It could even be a combination of the two: that an “egg and grog in a noggin” was shortened to egg nog. After having one or two, it’s easy to see why.
In the 1800s, egg nog was nearly always made in large quantities and nearly always a party drink. It was noted by an English visitor in 1866, that “Christmas is not properly observed unless you brew egg nog for all comers; everybody calls on everybody else, and each call is celebrated by a solemn egg-nogging…It is made cold and is drunk cold and is to be commended.”
Here’s more on the history of egg nog.
EGGNOG RECIPES
Chocolate Egg Nog Recipe
Classic Egg Nog Recipe
Coconut Egg Nog
Eggnog Martini Recipe
Eggnog White Russian Recipe
Flaming Egg Nog Recipe
Low Calorie Egg Nog Recipes
Spiced Chocolate Eggnog
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[1] Classic egg nog (photo © Liquor.com).
[2] Chocolate eggnog (photo © Pitch.com).
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