Eggnog season is here; take a taste!

Right on schedule, as the calendar would flip to December each year, our next-door neighbor Bev would call on the landline telephone to announce that the season for eggnog and euchre had arrived. “So, come on over,” she would say. 

An evening sipping holiday beverages and enjoying a game of cards would then ensue. Bev’s aromatic, secret-recipe cold eggnog with just a splash of bourbon was optional. She was quite understanding, however, that not everyone savors the nutmeg-flavored, dairy-based drink. 

(A Canadian whisky-based old fashioned, laced with bitters and a slice of orange, topped with a long-stemmed maraschino cherry, is an acceptable holiday substitute.) 

Back to the eggnog. Michelle Darrisaw, a contributor to Southern Living magazine, said eggnog was concocted in Great Britain during medieval times by monks working in a monastery winery. 

They added whipped eggs and figs to their sherry, port or brandy, flavored it with cinnamon and warmed it up over the fire. The monks said they were searching for a tasty drink to ward off the flu. You bet.

 

Allen Tatman of Paddy Malone’s Pub in Jefferson City, Mo., said the American colonies were fertile ground for the spread of eggnog. “Lots of farms and plenty of eggs and milk and cream. But, the heavily taxed liquors of sherry, port and brandy were soon replaced with rum from the Caribbean, which was cheap and abundant during the colonial period.” 

Food history professor Dr. Frederick Douglass Opie of Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., said: “Colonists referred to rum as grog; bartenders served rum in small wooden carved mugs called noggins. Thus, the drink eventually became ‘egg-n-grog’ and over time ‘eggnog.’” 

America’s first president George Washington, a Virginian, was a fan of eggnog. Editors at The Old Farmer’s Almanac uncovered two eggnog recipes that may have been attributed to Washington. The “mild” one was spiked with a full bottle of bourbon.

 

The “industrial strength” version specified “one quart cream, one quart milk, one dozen eggs, half a cup of sugar, one pint brandy, one pint rye whisky, one pint Jamaican rum and one pint sherry.” After adding the other ingredients, let mixture “set in cool place for several days. Taste frequently.” 

An infamous “Eggnog Riot” occurred on Christmas Eve in 1826 at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. Approximately 80 cadets went berserk after consuming vast quantities of alcohol in their eggnog.

 

Carol S. Funck of the U.S. Army Heritage Foundation said the academy was established in 1802. Since its founding, administrators had historically “turned a blind eye to the ritual” of cadets celebrating certain holidays by judiciously imbibing in “spirituous beverages.” 

The rules changed dramatically in 1826, when Col. Sylvanus Thayer, the superintendent, “expressly forbid the purchase, storage or consumption of alcohol at West Point.” 

The cadets were not happy. Writing for Smithsonian magazine, Natasha Geiling reported that “some cadets set about smuggling in liquor from nearby taverns” for the annual Christmas Eve party. They amassed three to four gallons of hooch. 

The merriment got out of hand. Windows were smashed in the North Barracks. As a result, 11 cadets who were deemed guilty of the most serious violations were dismissed from West Point. Eight others were severely reprimanded. 

One of those involved but spared from punishment was Jefferson Davis, future president of the Confederacy. 

Another cadet far removed from the ruckus was Robert E. Lee, who became a general and commander-in-chief of the Confederate grays. 

Perhaps Lee and some pals were studying in the library…or off-campus playing euchre.