Cocktail & Other Recipes By Spirit Cognac & Other Brandy Cocktails

Baltimore Eggnog

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Published 11/23/21
Baltimore Eggnog

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

What’s a holiday-time party without eggnog? This large-batch recipe, adapted from the December 1945 edition of Gourmet magazine by bar pro Derek Brown of Washington, DC’s Columbia Room, makes enough to keep an entire party’s worth of people merry and bright. 

Eggnog recipes are known to be flexible in their selection of base spirits; the creamy ingredients play well with a spectrum of spirits, from spiced rum to bourbon or brandy. And why choose between them when you can have both cognac and rum in your punch cup? This recipe calls for both, adding cognac’s elegant fruity notes to the rich funkiness of Jamaican rum. There’s no need to splurge on a fancy cognac, though; VS will do just fine. “The higher alcohol level will cut through the sweetness of the rest of the ingredients,” says Brown. He does, however, advocate for using freshly grated nutmeg rather than something out of a spice jar. “It’s a really different taste from what you’d get in a jar of McCormick,” he says.

Ingredients

  • 2 dozen eggs, separated
  • 1 750-mL bottle VS cognac or other brandy
  • 16 ounces Jamaican rum
  • 2 pounds powdered sugar
  • 3 quarts (96 ounces) whole milk, chilled
  • 1 quart (32 ounces) heavy cream, chilled
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Steps

Makes 25 servings.

  1. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks until light and lemon-colored.

  2. While continuing to beat, add the brandy, rum, sugar, milk, heavy cream and salt.

  3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and nutmeg until they form stiff peaks.

  4. Fold the whites into the yolk mixture.

  5. Serve in punch cups.

Will keep, tightly sealed and refrigerated, for up to one month.