Best alcohol to add to eggnog?
November 28, 2013 4:09 PM Subscribe
This holiday season I want to make a non-alcoholic eggnog and have some liquor on the side that people can just add to it. The question then is: bourbon, whiskey, rum, brandy...what's the best alcohol for eggnog?
Also, what are some good (simple!) recipes for virgin eggnog? That will taste good when mixed with alcohol?
Also, what are some good (simple!) recipes for virgin eggnog? That will taste good when mixed with alcohol?
AMARETTO
posted by Pallas Athena at 4:10 PM on November 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Pallas Athena at 4:10 PM on November 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
I vote Bourbon.
posted by MadamM at 4:20 PM on November 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by MadamM at 4:20 PM on November 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I don't think the "best alcohol" part of the question has an answer, as everyone has their own preference. Personally, I'd hate either amaretto or spiced rum in my eggnog. We just use bourbon.
posted by crush-onastick at 4:23 PM on November 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by crush-onastick at 4:23 PM on November 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
Brandy is my family's go to, FWIW.
posted by kathrynm at 4:27 PM on November 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by kathrynm at 4:27 PM on November 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
Hear me out here: nigori sake. The creamy, fruitiness goes with the creamy spiciness of the nog.
posted by koucha at 4:31 PM on November 28, 2013
posted by koucha at 4:31 PM on November 28, 2013
Rum and bourbon tend to be the main ones. Can you have two choices?
posted by jaguar at 4:35 PM on November 28, 2013
posted by jaguar at 4:35 PM on November 28, 2013
Best answer: Rum is traditional, brandy does well in creamy drinks, bourbon might be interesting. Decent whiskey would be wasted on eggnog (and I think the peaty notes would be offputting in cream, but the heaviness of the usual spices might help). So I think you should ask a sample of your guests or have a tasting with mini-bottles (get a couple of friends to do it, if you don't drink.)
posted by gingerest at 4:39 PM on November 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by gingerest at 4:39 PM on November 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
Bourbon. That is all.
posted by orange (sherbet) rabbit at 4:44 PM on November 28, 2013
posted by orange (sherbet) rabbit at 4:44 PM on November 28, 2013
Avocaat! The original egg nog flavor.
posted by parmanparman at 4:48 PM on November 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by parmanparman at 4:48 PM on November 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
Tuaca!
posted by vespabelle at 4:52 PM on November 28, 2013
posted by vespabelle at 4:52 PM on November 28, 2013
Rum or brandy. I despise bourbon, so for me that would ruin a perfectly good eggnog.
posted by Superplin at 5:05 PM on November 28, 2013
posted by Superplin at 5:05 PM on November 28, 2013
After experimenting one New Year's Day with various combinations, I was particularly partial to Catdaddy moonshine.
posted by Biblio at 5:17 PM on November 28, 2013
posted by Biblio at 5:17 PM on November 28, 2013
Avocaat! The original egg nog flavor.
The spirit in avocaat is brandy. And yes, brandy, if you must nog.
posted by holgate at 5:36 PM on November 28, 2013
The spirit in avocaat is brandy. And yes, brandy, if you must nog.
posted by holgate at 5:36 PM on November 28, 2013
I'm surprised at all the different responses. In my thirty-five-years-of-legal-drinking, I've never had anything but bourbon in eggnog. I can't remember being offered or asking for anything but bourbon.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 6:00 PM on November 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Benny Andajetz at 6:00 PM on November 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
I've never heard of anything but rum! This is interesting.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:17 PM on November 28, 2013 [7 favorites]
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:17 PM on November 28, 2013 [7 favorites]
I have never heard of anything but brandy! (Because you use part of it to light the Christmas pudding on fire, and part of it for fruitcake, and the rest goes in eggnog.) To me, brandy is sweet-but-nondescript and that's fine where egg nog is concerned.
posted by blnkfrnk at 6:38 PM on November 28, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by blnkfrnk at 6:38 PM on November 28, 2013 [4 favorites]
Best answer: All the best alcoholic eggnogs I've had were a sort of mélange of liquors mostly featuring some combination of rum, brandy, and bourbon. Since you're letting guests add their liquor to taste, why not offer choices?
Get some pints (or fifths, or handles, depending on the size and booziness of the party) of rum, brandy, bourbon, and maybe some more unusual choices like kahlua or chocolate liqueur or Irish creme, plus some non-alcoholic mixers like chocolate syrup, milk, or coffee and set up a little eggnog bar (with some fresh nutmeg and a grater!) where people can blend up their boozy holiday cheer to their hearts' content. No need to get expensive liquor, it's going into eggnog after all so anything not actually terrible will do fine.
After all if you wanted it all the same you could just mix it up beforehand. You're letting the guests do their own mixing (great idea, by the way!) so why not have a little fun with it and let them get creative?
posted by Scientist at 8:17 PM on November 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
Get some pints (or fifths, or handles, depending on the size and booziness of the party) of rum, brandy, bourbon, and maybe some more unusual choices like kahlua or chocolate liqueur or Irish creme, plus some non-alcoholic mixers like chocolate syrup, milk, or coffee and set up a little eggnog bar (with some fresh nutmeg and a grater!) where people can blend up their boozy holiday cheer to their hearts' content. No need to get expensive liquor, it's going into eggnog after all so anything not actually terrible will do fine.
After all if you wanted it all the same you could just mix it up beforehand. You're letting the guests do their own mixing (great idea, by the way!) so why not have a little fun with it and let them get creative?
posted by Scientist at 8:17 PM on November 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
Brandy.
Rum is too sweet. Good whisky or whiskey is wasted and the cheap stuff is cheap for a reason. Avocaat is already close enough to egg nog that you might as well just drink Avocaat. And you should.
Brandy, brandy, brandy.
posted by converge at 4:13 AM on November 29, 2013
Rum is too sweet. Good whisky or whiskey is wasted and the cheap stuff is cheap for a reason. Avocaat is already close enough to egg nog that you might as well just drink Avocaat. And you should.
Brandy, brandy, brandy.
posted by converge at 4:13 AM on November 29, 2013
Amaretto does something pretty interesting but you've got to be very careful not to over pour.
posted by Blasdelb at 6:00 AM on November 29, 2013
posted by Blasdelb at 6:00 AM on November 29, 2013
this thread has me wondering about cruzan blackstrap rum or maple crown royal to mix into egg nog.
posted by nadawi at 6:57 AM on November 29, 2013
posted by nadawi at 6:57 AM on November 29, 2013
Coffee liqueur is really good, otherwise brandy. Eggnog is surprisingly good over crushed ice.
posted by theora55 at 8:01 AM on November 29, 2013
posted by theora55 at 8:01 AM on November 29, 2013
Buffalo trace bourbon and kraken spiced rum.
posted by Annika Cicada at 8:26 AM on November 29, 2013
posted by Annika Cicada at 8:26 AM on November 29, 2013
Brandy or bourbon here.
posted by nosila at 10:06 AM on November 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by nosila at 10:06 AM on November 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm all about the spiced rum in eggnog, Sailor Jerry rum specifically. The rum has a great vanilla-y spicy flavour that it goes perfectly.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 10:42 AM on November 29, 2013
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 10:42 AM on November 29, 2013
I always thought rum was traditional but at some point I realized I don't like rum very much so now I usually do bourbon.
posted by SoftRain at 11:52 AM on November 29, 2013
posted by SoftRain at 11:52 AM on November 29, 2013
Zaya 12 yr dark rum
posted by hamsterdam at 2:18 PM on November 29, 2013
posted by hamsterdam at 2:18 PM on November 29, 2013
The flavor that we know as "eggnog" is actually a combination of TWO flavors: nutmeg and artificial rum flavoring. Add those two things to ANYTHING, and it'll be eggnog-flavored. Thus: rum is the best.
posted by julthumbscrew at 6:47 PM on November 29, 2013
posted by julthumbscrew at 6:47 PM on November 29, 2013
Best answer: Recipe: I've used something a lot like this recipe, both virgin and alcoholic, to delicious effect. I prefer only bourbon (whereas the linked recipe suggests a bourbon + rum mix).
To add to the chorus of "I never would have thought to put that in eggnog," this recipe has rum and apricot brandy and peach brandy. Madness!
posted by nicodine at 8:26 PM on November 29, 2013
To add to the chorus of "I never would have thought to put that in eggnog," this recipe has rum and apricot brandy and peach brandy. Madness!
posted by nicodine at 8:26 PM on November 29, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks for the responses, you bunch of alcoholics. Eggnog is made! Pretty much idiot proof and easy to make.
I have half a bottle of Myer's Dark Rum that's been on my shelf for a few years because I have never found a good match for it. It's perfect with the eggnog! Anyway, I'll take both to the party and hopefully there will be more liquor to choose from.
posted by zardoz at 1:47 PM on November 30, 2013
I have half a bottle of Myer's Dark Rum that's been on my shelf for a few years because I have never found a good match for it. It's perfect with the eggnog! Anyway, I'll take both to the party and hopefully there will be more liquor to choose from.
posted by zardoz at 1:47 PM on November 30, 2013
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posted by arcticwoman at 4:10 PM on November 28, 2013 [2 favorites]