Homemade Aged Boozy Eggnog

Just when you thought you couldn’t improve on Homemade Eggnog – there’s “Aged” Boozy Eggnog! The flavors of bourbon, brandy, dark rum, and heavy cream evolve over time and become richly complex. This festive holiday cocktail is a dessert-like milkshake for adults. What a great way to “kick” off your Christmas party this year. Or bottle this luxurious libation and give as a homemade gift for friends this season.

Eggnog – you either LOVE IT or HATE IT. There seems to be no in-between conclusion on the matter. This recipe is a “heavy drink” not just because of the alcohol but literally, the cream and egg yolks give it a weighty mouthfeel, which I really appreciate. I don’t do wimpy when it comes to eggnog.

If you’re like me, I forever associate eggnog with festivities of Thanksgiving and Christmas. And personally, I think eggnog is the quintessential drink of the season. So …  if you want to bring the “party” to any holiday get-together, this is the ONE to bring.

Using Pasteurized eggs in Eggnog for Safety

As the name implies, eggs are the starting point of this whole “eggnog” process. And if you are wondering how safe “raw” eggs are in this recipe, you can put your fears to rest by using a pasteurizing process.  This is the safest way when making eggnog at home. It’s a very easy process but takes a little bit of patient watching.

Pasteurized eggs are eggs that have been cooked briefly in their shells and submerged into an ice water bath, which helps eliminate concerns for bacteria. Here are some tips on how to accomplish this. 

1. Start with room temperature eggs. Take the eggs out of the refrigerator and let sit for about 20 minutes. Also, it’s best to use fresh eggs and make sure there are no cracks in the shells.
2. Place the eggs in a large saucepan filled with water. Turn the heat on and submerge the tip of a digital thermometer into the water.  Slowly heat the water to a temperature of 140°F (no more than 142°F). Keep the water at that temperature for three minutes. Reduce the heat or remove the pan from the stovetop if the temperature begins to rise above that. If you’re using extra-large or jumbo size eggs, keep them in the water for five minutes.
3. With a slotted spoon, immediately remove the eggs from the water and place them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
4. You can read more about pasteurizing eggs on this site from WikiHow.

Once you have pasteurized your eggs, you’re ready now to begin your Homemade Boozy Eggnog.

Separating the Yolks from the Whites

Since you are separating a dozen egg yolks from the whites, it takes some time to get through this process. One of the best purchases you can make for your kitchen is a wire egg separator. It costs very little and will make your life so much easier when you’re working through this eggnog recipe.

Use three bowls. A large mixing bowl that you will combine all the eggnog ingredients into and two smaller ones. Crack one egg into the egg separator and let the egg whites flow through the wire circles into one of the small bowls. Flip the egg yolk into the large mixing bowl.

Transfer the whites one at a time into a third bowl as you are separating them. This will ensure the whites are free from any broken yolks that occur during the process. Therefore you’d only waste one egg white instead of the whole batch. Which, there are a ton of recipes that call for only egg whites; ie. angel food cakes, homemade marshmallows, souffles, royal icing, meringue, etc. Btw – egg whites can be refrigerated up to one week. Here’s a great site for using up those extra egg whites – Serious Eats.

Combining all the Ingredients for the Homemade Aged Eggnog

It’s smooth sailing from here on out with this recipe. Add sugar to the egg yolks and whisk them together until they are completely blended and creamy. Add all the other ingredients, milk, cream, alcohol, vanilla and spices. Stir it all together and transfer this boozy concoction into a gallon glass jar with a tight-sealing lid, and you’ve just created “happy” in a jar.

Because of the pasteurization of the eggs, you could drink it right away.  But for the true magic to happen, let it sit in the refrigerator for at least three weeks. All of these flavors begin to meld together over time into this festive cocktail which is rich and creamy with depth like you wouldn’t believe.

I had a friend share an aged eggnog recipe from Michael Ruhlman with me a few years back. I’ve added some pure vanilla and spices but it is basically the same recipe. According to Michael Ruhlman, you can actually keep this in the refrigerator for up to one year and even more. The most I’ve let it sit before consuming is three months. But I must say, the flavors at that stage were already fantastic.

Homemade Aged Eggnog as Gifts

In the last few years, it has become a tradition for me to make batches of eggnog and bottle them in order to give to friends and clients as homemade Christmas gifts. I’ve combined them with a 30-year tradition of making Pumpkin Cake Rolls. You would not believe the expectation and delight on people’s faces when we show up with these two “made with love” gifts every year.

Serve the Eggnog with Homemade Whipped Cream and Fresh Nutmeg

If I’m having friends over for a Christmas get-together, or any other holiday party, one of my favorite drinks to serve is this Homemade Aged Boozy Eggnog recipe. It’s always a hit. But to top it off with more delicious delight, I add homemade whipped cream on top, sprinkle it with fresh nutmeg and garnish it with a couple of cinnamon sticks. It’s so beautiful and always receives “ooooh’s” and “Ahhhhh’s.”

Homemade Whipped Cream is one of the easiest things to “whip” up and is so much better than any store-bought whipped topping in the freezer section of your grocery store. Here are a few tips in making sweetened whipped cream.

1. Start with a cold glass or metal bowl, cold hand beaters and cold heavy cream. Put the bowl and beaters in your freezer for about 20 minutes.
2. Beat the cream until it forms soft peaks and then sprinkle in granulated sugar. Continue to beat until the peaks become nice and firm. Don’t overbeat or it will become lumpy and butter-like.
3. One cup of cream will make about two cups of whipped cream.
4. The amount of sugar is purely according to your tastebuds. I like to taste the sugar, so I tend to use more sugar than most. You should start with about 1/8 cup and taste as you go.
5. The whipped cream can be made ahead of time which helps tremendously when serving a larger group. I use an icing bag and pipe it onto the eggnog itself. Or you can just spoon it on top as well.

I don’t think you can find a more festive cocktail tradition for the holiday season than this Homemade Aged Boozy Eggnog.  And because this particular recipe has a good amount of alcohol, it can be quite dangerous. So, my advice, proceed with caution!

But I must say, it is one of the best homemade eggnogs I’ve ever had. The density, the depth of flavors, the weightiness of the cream and eggs, all of it makes for a delectable drink that is sure to please your party guests and have them asking for the recipe. Then you can send them here – lol.

If you love this Holiday Cocktail, please check out the others here on my site:

Red Wine Sangria

Apple Caramel Hot Toddy

Berry Infused White Rum Mojito

Pumpkin Spice Vodka Martini

Moscow Mules

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