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30-Day Eggnog

Michael Ruhlman
If you have room in the fridge, make a double batch, and hold some back for text year to see if the aging is worth it.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 15 mins
Fridge set up time 30 d
Total Time 30 d 15 mins
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Servings 6

Equipment

  • 1 gallon glass jar

Ingredients
  

  • 12 Egg Yolks save whites for angel food cake!
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 liter bourbon
  • 4 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ¾ cup Cognac or brandy
  • ½ cup Meyer's dark rum
  • 1 pinch Kosher Salt

Instructions
 

  • Combine the yolks and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until well blended and creamy.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
  • Transfer the mixture to a 1-gallon glass jar and tightly seal the lid. (Alternatively, you can bottle it.) Place in the refrigerator for 30 days. (But you'd better try a couple glasses the day after making it just to make sure it's got the right balance, don't you think?)
  • Serve topped with sweet meringue and nutmeg if you wish.

Notes

This recipe is pretty boozy—feel free to reduce the alcohol to 1 liter total, or to taste. I like the mix of boozes for flavor but anything goes here. If you're feeling super-flush and want to make it very special, try using Oban single-malt, a whiskey that goes particularly well with cream, as this cocktail post, announcing a new cocktail, The Major Award, notes.
How can you keep dairy and eggs in your fridge for a year or three? The alcohol kills the bacteria that cause food to spoil (not to mention salmonella that might be in raw egg). This is a good thing to remember if you need to leave town and find you have a lot of dairy and eggs that will go bad--just ad 20 percent booze by weight and it will keep. Kenji, in his post above, says it pasturizes the liquid in 24 hours, but studies I read said it could take as long as 30 days to eliminate 100 percent of the bacteria.
Keyword christmas, cocktail, drink, eggnog, holiday