When I was growing up, Thanksgiving weekend marked the beginning of the Christmas season. This beginning wasn’t marked by decorating, or shopping, or getting a tree. Instead it was signified by my mother making her mother’s recipe for Bourbon Cake and my father making Eggnog. Both of these culinary essentials were then allowed to age until Christmas.

Making a dish with raw eggs and allowing it to sit, unrefrigerated, for a month may seem foolish, but there is so much booze in the base mixture that there is no way it can spoil. And the long aging process is essential to creating a smooth (as opposed to a raw, whiskey) flavor.

Eggnog, Base Mixture

6 eggs
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c bourbon
1/3 c rum (dark is best)

Beat eggs until well-mixed. Combine bourbon and rum and add very gradually to the egg mixture — this should take about fifteen minutes. (Note: If the booze is added too quickly it will curdle the eggs, so take it slowly.) Beat in the sugar and store, covered, in a glass jar in a cool, dark place — but not a refrigerator.

Eggnog, Serving

1 c whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c sugar

Whip the cream until almost stiff. Whip in vanilla and sugar. Stir up the booze mixture and thoroughly mix into cream. This nog will be very thick and you may wish to thin it somewhat with milk. Serve in punch cups with a sprinkling of finely grated nutmeg.

My father says he often increases the bourbon to 1 cup and the rum to 1/2 cup in the base mixture producing a more potent (and less thick) end result. He warns that if you do this the time spent adding the booze to the eggs will be proportionally longer.

Kevin