“Christmas comes but once a year, when eggnog takes the place of beer.” – 1918
These days, Christmastime can feel tainted with greed; shopping and spending, forging memories with limited edition Coke cans, thoughtless gifts and waste. There was a time, over a century ago, when things were more simple and pure. Back in those days, before the black friday sales or even department store extravaganzas, the Christmas holidays were more grounded, centered in the true reason for the season… getting #$@%*! up.
Make no mistake – our agrarian ancestors indeed worked their fingers to the bone day in day out for the most of the year. But when winter rolled around, harvests were put up, hogs killed and cured, one of the primary chores to attend to was… partying. Families would travel or host visitors; when possible, food was shared in all directions; spirits were consumed, often to excess. The large quantities called for in old eggnog recipes hearken to a time when a huge batch was made in late November, to serve to guests throughout the season.
This annual cycle remained in the social DNA even as the nature of work changed, and more and more people flocked to cities and manned machines year round (or sat in offices and collected on the work of others.) In this environment, things could get a little… chaotic.
Especially in the rough-and-tumble environment of late 1800s Baltimore, the winter holidays correlated with a time of increased accidents, petty crimes, and some not so petty crimes. We’ll get the unpleasantness out of the way and start with the latter – eggnog poisonings.
I found several incidents of murder or drugging by eggnog. The ubiquitous holiday beverage with its potent combination of liquors must have been a most tempting vehicle for sinister motives in December.
More innocuously, eggnog was generally associated with the type of rowdiness that drew the finger-wagging of the temperance movement and the cautioning of elders. In 1890, two Baltimore men, aged 19 and 21, successfully used “egg-nogg” as a defense when they went to trial for stealing a horse and buggy on a lark.
Each year, news editorials appeared, admonishing would-be eggnog hellions to stop the insanity. In 1905 a Baptist reverend took to the pages of the Afro-American to decry the debauchery, firecrackers and revealing clothing associated with Christmas revelry. Many young men, he warned, have their “lives blotted out” on this one day, and many young women “start to hell.”
“The enjoyments of the Christmas festival were accompanied, as usual, with the usual number of accidents, some resulting from the careless use of firearms, whilst others may perhaps be attributed to the too free use of “egg-nogg and apple toddy.” – Baltimore Sun, 1868
During the holiday season, temperance advocates gladly took on the title of “Anti Egg-Nog Movement” when holding meetings.
Still, the popularity of eggnog continued right on up to -and through- Prohibition. In 1921, the Sun declared that “1921 eggnog is properly seasoned with real Jamaica rum, bootlegged at $8 a quart.”
I have over 30 eggnog recipes in my database. Curious to compare differences, I normalized some of the recipes to a 12-egg standard and compared liquor ratios. Findings? The 50’s were a boozy time. The party seems to be in Howard county.
Most Maryland recipes call for a combination of brandy and either rum or bourbon. A few use all of the above. According to “Forgotten Maryland Cocktails”, the combination of liquors such as cognac, Jamaican rum, and Madeira are typical of a “port city” eggnog, which makes sense. Peach brandy was a very popular addition as well.
Some recipes use cream, some use milk, while others use both. Egg whites, no whites, top the nog with beaten whites? To nutmeg or not to nutmeg?
I couldn’t decide which recipe to try. Compromise: all of them. I calculated an average amount of liquors, cream and milk. I decided to wing it with the whites and ultimately left them out. I also opted to leave out ‘unusual’ inclusions such as cloves or evaporated milk. The result is what I’ll call Amalgamated Maryland eggnog.
I’ll end this post with commentary from one of eggnog’s rare printed defenses. In 1910 the Annapolis Capital paper quipped: “With eggs at 42 cents per dozen the Mint Julep Association is glad it does not belong to the Eggnog Clan.” The Baltimore Sun indignantly reprinted the comment with the reply: “Clan, sister? It is a hierarchy, a universal brotherhood, a winged seraband that measures its membership by the millions and counts its kingdoms by the stars.”
Recipe:
- 12 eggs, separated
- 3 pints cream
- 2 pints milk
- 1.25 pints brandy (peach if you can find it, apple is the likely option)
- .5 pints Jamaican rum
- .5 pints Bourbon
- 9 oz sugar (or to taste)
- nutmeg (optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Beat eggs until smooth and yellow. Gradually beat in sugar, followed by liquors, vanilla (if using) and finish with milk and cream. Optional: top with beaten egg whites or fold them in last. Top with nutmeg if desired.
