Homemade Eggnog and Grog ‘Nog

Eggnog is one of our favorite holiday drinks and, while we enjoy it plain, we also enjoy it with a big splash of rum or brandy in it. Brandy is said to be more traditional, but we have always been partial to rum, of course. As we were mixing up a batch of homemade eggnog this past weekend, we wondered what we could do to make it more tiki-like. The obvious answer is to add more rum – and we did just that and ended up with a ‘nog that we think would be worthy of being called a holiday grog.

We used our homemade eggnog, which is seasoned with vanilla and plenty of nutmeg, as a base for our drink. You can use storebought ‘nog, but you might want to try out a few brands if you don’t already have a favorite because their flavor profiles vary wildly and you might have to try one or two before you identify one that you really like. To turn it into Grog Nog, we added in dark rum and spiced rum, then floated a little bit of Cruzan blackstrap rum on top and added a dollop of whipped cream. You might not be able to think of the last time that you had a drink called grog that was topped with whipped cream, but it really works here.

We liked the Kraken as the spiced rum in our grog because it has some dark spicy notes to it, and it isn’t overly sweet, but other spiced rums will work if you don’t have the Kraken on hand. You can always double up the bitters if your eggnog doesn’t have quite as much spice as you’d like. The homemade ‘nog is made with raw eggs, as it is a fairly traditional recipe. We recommend buying pasteurized in-shell eggs for the recipe, but there is enough booze in the grog that you probably won’t have anything to worry about – except whether you made a big enough batch of ‘nog to go back for thirds.

Grog ‘Nog
1 oz dark Jamaican rum
1 oz Kraken spiced rum
1 dash Jamaican or Tiki Bitters
4 oz homemade eggnog (recipe below)
1/2 oz Cruzan Blackstrap Rum
whipped cream
nutmeg

In an Irish coffee mug, stir together dark rum, spiced rum and eggnog until well-combined. Float blackstrap rum on top, then finish with a dollop of whipped cream and a generous sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg.

Serves 1.

Homemade Eggnog
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/3 tsp nutmeg, plus more for serving
3 cups milk
3/4 cup heavy cream

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until light in color and sugar is dissolved. Whisk in vanilla, nutmeg, milk and cream. Strain into a small pitcher and chill.

Makes about 4 cups.