I repost this every year about this time, because I’m a man on a mission. You see, I love egg nog, but I can’t stand the thick, gelatinous goop they sell at the grocery store. Even if you were to cut it with alcohol, it’s still so overly-pasteurized and full of preservatives that it would be anything but enjoyable to slug down at a Christmas party. So I set about concocting the simplest, tastiest Egg Nog recipe I could, and here’s what I came up with.
In terms of cocktail history, Egg Nog is nothing more than a brandy or rum (or both) flip made with the addition of cream or milk. The 1862 Bar-Tender’s Guide by Jerry Thomas calls for a nog made up of a tablespoon of bar sugar, a tablespoon of water, a whole egg, cognac, rum and milk, shaken and strained, with some nutmeg grated on top. The problem I have with Thomas’ recipe is all the extra water that comes from the melting of the ice, not to mention that extra half ounce he calls for. Watery egg nog, anyone? Yeah, no thanks.
So I did a lot of research, in cookbooks and on the web, and tried a bunch of different recipes and methods. Some called for cooking the eggs into sort of a custard, but that’s a heck of a lot of work and results in a thick glop. Others required separating the eggs, beating them independently, and folding them together. But again, it’s thick and I’m lazy.
This is the recipe I devised. It can be made in just about any home or bar, since the ingredients are fairly simple. It can be done entirely in a blender, so there are no whisks or beaters or rubber spatulas or stovetops needed. It yields two healthy servings, so you can easily multiply it to serve more. It doesn’t use a ton of heavy cream, so it’s fairly light. In other words, it’s practically perfect.
2 large eggs
3 oz (by volume) granulated sugar
½ tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
2 oz brandy
2 oz spiced rum (I use Sailor Jerry’s)
6 oz whole milk
4 oz heavy cream
Beat eggs in blender for one minute on medium speed. Slowly add sugar and blend for one additional minute. With blender still running, add nutmeg, brandy, rum, milk and cream until combined. Chill thoroughly to allow flavors to combine and serve in chilled wine glasses or champagne coupes, grating additional nutmeg on top immediately before serving.
One note about blenders. This recipe works great in home blenders, but the commercial models are designed to heat whatever they’re blending, which can result in scrambled eggs by the time you get around to the sugar. If you’re using a Vita-Mix or similar commercial blender, cut that initial blend time down to a quarter minute or so.
My problem with homemade tonic water has always been a flavor profile that was too esoteric for the general audience. This recipe takes some of the positive qualities people have come to understand from commercial tonic water and updated them with fresh ingredients.
One question I'm often asked is "Do you have any drink-related book recommendations?" Well, funny you should ask, I've compiled a list of the ten books every professional bartender or home mixologist should own. I keep every one of these close at hand and have read most of them several times. I suggest you do the same.
The problem with living in Oregon is the absence of little wooden shacks by the sea that sell cases of fresh ginger beer stacked on back porches. But with some readily-available ingredients, a recipe I've been revising for several years - and a few free minutes - I can easily transport myself to a little fishing boat on the ocean as I sip a Dark and Stormy made with fresh, house-made ginger beer.
It's always mojito season somewhere, so this advice is timely in your area about half the year. Wether you're making them or simply enjoying them, this advice will help you look like a pro in no time at all.
The flavors of the Richmond Gimlet are imbued with sunshine. Fresh mint mingling with the herbaceousness of gin and the tartness of lime have made this drink a Eugene classic for many years now.
You'll get a lot of snarky advice on this site about how to make a proper drink, but if you ever need to know what not to do, this is the video for you.
Not to be confused with the Spanish wine-and-fruit-based alcoholic beverage sangria, sangrita (meaning "little blood") is a traditional accompaniment to a tequila served completo; a non-alcoholic sipper that cleanses the palate between fiery doses of agave.
The world of booze can be mystifying to people that don't work in bars or around alcohol all the time. I hear a lot of assumptions about the industry I'm in that are - much like 90% of what you hear in bars - completely false. Here are a few you've probably heard yourself.
The debate rages on: Should we try to look cool and crack open the Boston shaker or be tidy professionals and use the Hawthorne strainer the way God intended? Be sure to leave your two cents in the comments section.
The traditional garnish for a Pisco Sour is a couple of drops of bitters in the foam, but I've never been particularly impressed with the way these few paltry drops of bitters sat in their little egg-white mattress and didn't play along with the rest of the drink. I envisioned a Pisco Sour with a uniformly-distributed bitters-scorched foam: slightly crisp as the fire burnt the sugars, and slightly warm as the foam insulated the rest of the frosty cocktail from the heat. A pisco creme brulée in a glass!
I get so many visitors looking for tips on how to write a bartending resume that I thought I should finally post a tutorial on how to write your own. Click the headline to read more.
I always love showing up to a party with a gallon jug of pre-mixed margaritas, so I've decided to share my recipe. This margarita recipe is the perfect blend of strong, sweet, and sour. But be warned: this recipe packs a serious punch.
There isn't much I can say about this video that hasn't been said already. If you've read anything I've written about cocktails, you'll understand why this video symbolizes everything wrong with the state of bartending in America today. Watch and learn, but be warned: this one isn't for the feint of heart.
My name is Jeff Morgenthaler and I'm the head bartender at Bel Ami in Eugene, Oregon.
I'm 36, I've been tending bar for 12 years and writing about it for 5. Mixing drinks has become something of a passion for me in recent years, and I strive to elevate the experience of having a drink from something mundane to something more culinary.
The writing I do here is intended as a work in progress. My recipes are like my opinions: they are constantly being revised and refined as I work them through my mind and my fingers. Comments and participation are encouraged, so please don't feel the need to tread lightly here.
If you’re ever wandering aimlessly around Portland on a Friday morning, it’s always a good idea to stop by the cocktail books section at Powell’s.
You never know what you might find.
Things are really starting to ramp up for the 75th anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition on December 5th! Today I received a package from the folks at Old Forester bourbon, who are showing their support of my favorite day by releasing a limited edition Repeal Day bottling of their whiskey.
From the press release:
“Repeal [...]
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Tony Figoli
29 Aug 2008 at 2:44 pm 1. Blair, aka Trader Tiki
Damned tourists!
29 Aug 2008 at 4:23 pm 2. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
That’s right!
29 Aug 2008 at 4:37 pm 3. NW
Congrats! I have been trying to find that booklet for 2 years now since I lost a bid for it on Ebay.
Post the cool stuff please.
30 Aug 2008 at 12:35 am 4. John Claude
Was that just sitting in the cocktail section? Looks more like Pearl Room material. What’d you shell out for that?
I found a copy of Three Bottle Bar with the dust jacket still on it and a bunch of clipped articles about the author from the 1940s.
30 Aug 2008 at 5:59 am 5. Rick
Powell’s books is a bloody mecca of goodness. When I was in Portland last year, I went every day, and every day they had a new, old cocktail guide that I had never seen before.
My favorite find was “Here’s How.” It’s wood bound from 1941. And it was only $10.
30 Aug 2008 at 7:16 am 6. Dominik MJ
Hey Jeffrey,
please do not keep the content for yourself! Don’t be selfish. Just post it to your site… PLEASE!
Cheers!
Dominik MJ
30 Aug 2008 at 7:22 am 7. Helmut Adam
Yes, please post it for the “viewers eyes”.
30 Aug 2008 at 7:28 am 8. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Don’t worry, I’ll be posting my findings here for everyone! What am I, hard of sharing?
31 Aug 2008 at 11:13 am 9. keith waldbauer
You bragging a-hole. All I got from Powell’s was a copy of The Playboy cocktail book. Well, you got the book with the better content, I got better illustrations. Story of my life; everyone else gets smarter while I’m busying staring at boobies.
31 Aug 2008 at 6:06 pm 10. Eugenia
Bah. You beat me to it. I’m going there on Tuesday & was in the market for precisely such goodies. I’ll have to drown my tears in one of your drinks. Poor me!
01 Sep 2008 at 11:37 am 11. dshenaut
a shame. I work a block away and never stop by.
01 Sep 2008 at 12:00 pm 12. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Waldbauer - Suck it.
Eugenia - Stop in anyway, you never know what you’ll find!