Homemade Eggnog Cocktail

After spending Christmas Eve day at the office (ala Bob Cratchit), I came home to a mistake--a carton of "fat free" eggnog that I had picked up at the grocery store. What was I thinking?

Thick, gloppy, and schmaltz-yellow, it plopped forth like cold, gelatinous gravy from the container into my glass--not exactly inviting. The taste was worse than the visual presentation. Metallic and fantastically craptacular, I pondered if there actually might be schmaltz in my glass. The flavor was vile and horrific; not at all what eggnog should be.

I ran to my computer scanned Google for homemade eggnog recipes and saw Alton Brown had one posted on Food Network. Thankfully, I had bought some farm-fresh eggs, whole milk, and half-and-half at the grocery store (along with that evil fakenog). Not an hour after my fortuitous stumbling upon Alton's recipe (with some tweaking of my own) I sit before you drinking the most sumptuous homemade eggnog cocktail I have ever had.

Let's start with the eggnog recipe, which as previously mentioned, is based on Alton Brown's recipe.

Separate 4 fresh (the freshest you can find) egg yolks from 4 egg whites, placing each in their own bowls*. Starting with the yolks, whip with a beater until buttery yellow. The add 1/3 cup of raw sugar and blend until dissolved. To this add 2 cups of whole milk and 1 cup of half-and-half. Finally, add in the proportions you prefer some nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and clove (not totaling more than 1.5 tsp of spices in all). Now for the egg whites. Whip with a beater until medium stiff peaks form and add 1 T of raw sugar, whipping to incorporate. Fold the egg whites into the egg and milk mixture and refrigerate to chill.

Now for the cocktail. The following recipe is for 2 drinks.

2 oz good dark rum (e.g. Barbancourt 8 year)
4 dashes of Angostura orange bitters
6 oz homemade eggnog
1 barspoon of St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram

Shake the rum, bitters, and allspice dram over ice. Strain into 6 oz eggnog and stir. Split between two cocktail glasses that have been garnished with a twist of lemon zest.

Cheers and Merry Christmas! ~Dr. Cocktation

*NB: The American Egg Board states: There have been warnings against consuming raw or lightly cooked eggs on the grounds that the egg may be contaminated with Salmonella, a bacteria responsible for a type of food-borne illness.