Does anyone actually like eggnog? This question was asked of me recently. I’ve enjoyed it over the years, but it’s never been a big part of my holiday experience. For many of us it seems it’s one of those anomalies; something we know through the screen but have little experience of. I’m not opposed to it. I grew up in the 80s when we were told to drink our milk by sports people, politicians, and even Mr T. On the basis of that alone, drinking eggnog could be skewed as an act of festive wellness. 

For the uninitiated, there’s no prizes for guessing it contains eggs, separated and used at different points of the making; whisked together with milk, cream, sugar and spiced with nutmeg and vanilla. It can be served straight but as a punch you’re probably going to spike it with rum, whisky, or brandy. If you’re eggnogging at home one part spirit to five parts eggnog is suggested, though Canadian chef Gord Kahle of Perth’s Heritage Wine Bar says it must be rum, and “the more the better.” An apt reminder to nominate a skipper.

While it seems now to have been fully embraced in the Americas, culinary historians believe eggnog has its roots in medieval Britain, and the posset, a milky, ale-like drink served hot and enjoyed by the nobility, and later boozy monks.  

To be honest my interest is piqued more by eggnog’s extended family, like coquito, originating in Puerto Rico, which uses coconut milk alongside the traditional ingredients. San Juan based food writer Alicia Kennedy makes a vegan coquito which relies on coconut condensed milk, coconut cream, and white rum. There’s rompope, a Mexican iteration which forgoes egg whites and therefore has more of a yellow hue. 

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Dimitri Rtshiladze, owner of Perth bar Foxtrot Unicorn, tells me he’s “had some great hot milk punches before; freshly made they are great. But when you have a bowl full of milk and egg yolk sitting there being warmed behind a bar, that’s when you start to see customers throwing up.” This was a concern I’d been kicking around. In the absence of store-bought pasteurised eggnog the answer is perhaps always fresh, and always chilled.

Such rich concoctions may not suit our festive climate – like roasting turkey on a day pushing 40c. But James Gentile, of Perth cocktail bar Bobeche suggests a lighter iteration of eggnog that he prepares with a little tequila and sherry.  I’ve never been steered wrong by chef Danielle Alvarez, who suggests I consider crema de vie, a Cuban eggnog, that uses sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, eggs, vanilla, and rum. Importantly, it’s served chilled. Danielle understands traditional eggnog might not suit an Australian summer but Miami, where she grew up, isn’t exactly cool at Christmas. 

This year it seems, eggnog is in. Can someone pass me the Devil’s on Horseback?

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