Recipe: Eggnog for Bourbon Lovers

I have vivid memories of Christmas mornings at my childhood home. Even if we woke up extra early, we still had to wait to see what was in our stockings until just before breakfast, at which point my father always whipped up a batch of eggnog, which he sipped while we opened presents. I always thought it was a recipe that he had concocted on his own, but it turns out that it comes from his college roommate, a nuclear physicist named Bernie Van der Hoeven. Both Bernie and my father used to use raw eggs, but I've updated the procedure to reflect more current egg safety standards. It keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, and the flavor only improves during that time. 

Recipe

Bourbon Egg Nog

Ingredients

Yield: Serves 8

• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup brandy
• ½ cup dark rum
• 1 cup bourbon
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups milk
• nutmeg, to taste

Directions

1. Whip egg yolks and ½ cup sugar over a double boiler in a mixer bowl until 165°F (use a digital probe thermometer to measure). Then, whip the mixture in a stand mixer until cool with a whisk attachment. Set aside.
2. In a second mixer bowl, repeat this process, whipping the egg whites and remaining sugar until 165°F. Then, whip in a stand mixer until cool with whisk attachment. Note – if you don’t have two mixer bowls, scrape the yolks out into a separate bowl, and wash the bowl and whisk attachment before whipping the egg whites.
3. Add brandy, rum, and bourbon into egg yolks and gently hand whisk. Then, wash the mixer bowl and whisk attachment to be ready to whip cream.
4. Whip cream to soft peaks.
5. Fold egg whites into egg/alcohol mixture using a spatula, then fold in the cream. Thin out as desired by folding in milk.
6. To serve sprinkle tops of glasses with freshly grated nutmeg.

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