Ah, eggnog. Nothing is quite as festive as this creamy classic made from milk, sugar, eggs, and booze. Here in America, we're all about our eggnog. You could say eggnog is as American as George Washington. In fact, you could say old George invented the drink himself.
Legend has it that on one particularly frigid Christmas Eve, Martha Washington was warming up some milk on the stove (George required warm milk every night before bed, you see). As Martha was stirring the milk for her hubby, a rogue hen perched on the conveniently open windowsill right above Martha’s stove. It was really cold, see, and the hen wanted to warm up by the heat of that bubbling milk. Well, Martha paid the chicken no mind until that cold little hen laid an egg and it fell right into George’s sleepytime drink. Unwilling to pour out the perfectly heated milk, Martha just kept on stirring and served it to the POTUS #1 anyways. Upon drinking the eggy milky concoction, George declared, “Needs liquor!” Mrs. Washington then promptly added a slosh of rum to the drink and eggnog was born.
(Editor's Note: This is not true, no matter how much we want it to be true.)
Seriously though—Christmas Eve really is National Eggnog Day, and hey, George Washington
really did love boozy eggnog. So if you’re tired of the same old prepackaged carton’d stuff your family usually drinks on Dec. 24, you should try one of these 10 variations instead.
1. Foggy Dew
Named after a folksy lament about lost love, the Foggy Dew is an Irish take on eggnog which calls for 12-year-old Irish whiskey. Find the recipe at
Food and Wine.
2. Double Nut Eggnog
This eggnog variation is for peanut butter pie lovers. The "double nut" refers to the addition of yummy hazelnut liqueur. Find the recipe at
Serious Eats.
3. Holiday Berry Nog
This drink is for the smoothie-obsessed, or for those of us with less refined palettes who need to disguise the flavor of the actual eggnog in order to drink it. Find the recipe at
Real Housewives of Minnesota.
4. Maple Bourbon Eggnog
Never was there a pairing more sinful than bourbon and bacon. Find the recipe at
Serious Eats.
5. Coquito
The coquito is a Latin version of eggnog which has just a TON of coconut in it. Find the recipe at Martha Stewart.
6. Santa's Little Helper
This particular nog's made with pear puree which is totally necessary to cut through the ungodly amount of bourbon in it. Find the recipe at
About Food.
7. Sticky Toffee Pudding Eggnog
Apparently traditional eggnog was so thick you could eat it with a spoon, so this stuff is too. If you're into that, you can find the recipe at
Food and Wine.
8. Vegan Eggnog
Don't worry, vegans! You can enjoy eggnog too! This version is made with silken tofu and soymilk in place of the usual eggs and milk. Find the recipe at
About Food.
9. Chocolate and Spice Eggnog
This chocolate nog is hot and spicy. Try this one out for a little post-dinner cinnamon and cayenne-infused kick. Find the recipe at
Serious Eats.
10. Eggnog Jelly Shots
This eggnog variation is for you crazy kiddos that want to get wasted, and fast. Plus, look at how damn cute they are. Find the recipe at
Tablespoon.
