The Transatlantic Voyage…

It has long been suspected that eggnog made its way to America from Europe. Unfortunately, eggnog’s origins are a bit of a mystery to us and there are several theories floating around. Its roots are thought to be from a drink made of Spanish sherry and milk called “Dry sack posset” by the English. Nevertheless, eggnog became very popular amongst the upper classes because the drink was rich, spicy, and most importantly alcoholic.

According to The Dictionary of American Food and Drink, the word “nog” dates back to the 1600s when it was an old English term for ale. Throughout Europe, eggnog was traditionally made with white wine, or ale; servicing a possible history to our illustrious drink’s name.

However, in 1607, Captain John Smith (yes… “Pocahontas” John Smith) reported that in Jamestown, Virginia eggnog was consumed. This time it was with rum, not ale, because it was much less expensive to import from the nearby Caribbean. Colonial America called rum “grog”, and the name eggnog very well could have come from “egg-and-grog.”

Still, others claim that the “nog” of eggnog came from “noggin”, a small, carved mug made from wood. “Egg in a nog” being corrupted into the ever popular eggnog. So it goes.

In Passing Centuries…

In the 1800s, eggnog became a social drink for holiday parties because of its popularity to be made in large quantities. Being intended for the winter season, eggnog was especially common for a “good health” toast on Christmas Day. Later it became tradition in Baltimore for young men to go door to door on New Year’s Day to drink eggnog with friends.

Throughout the years, the prime ingredients of eggnog have remained the same with the exception of alcohol type. As previously mentioned, eggnog in Europe was made with white wine or ale and America tends to spike it with bourbon or rum. The Peruvians, however use pomace brandy while Germans add beer to the blend.

It is also worth noting, George Washington turned out to be quite the eggnog aficionado and was said to have concocted his own recipe containing rye whiskey, rum and sherry¹.

In More Recent History…

Regardless of name or background, eggnog is the pinnacle of all the holiday consumables known to man. Rated number one in 2002, compared to other holiday foods typically consumed in the holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas².

Eggnog has even made a debut in popular culture in the 1989 movie so entitled “Egg-Nog.” Directed by Roman Zaluski, the movie is a Polish romantic comedy about a father who warns his daughter that love makes fools of us all.

Consumption of eggnog peaked within the United States in 1962 when the record was set at a per capita consumption rate of 3.7 gallons per year. Coincidentally the same year Pope John XXIII excommunicated Fidel Castro³. Although this record was shadowed when Canadian eggnog consumption reached 9,178,000 liters (roughly 2,424,571 gallons) in 2004. Subsequently, there were 160 extra heart-related deaths in Canada that holiday period⁴.

More interestingly are the statistics gathered on egg consumption inside the United States. In fact, out of all the ways to get your egg, eggnog fans consume four times more egg from eggnog than from any other source⁵.

And when asked why we drink eggnog only at Christmas time, the American Egg Board based in Illinois only has this reply: “I have absolutely no idea why we only drink it at Christmas.”

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¹ – Who knew good ol’ George liked ‘em strong. It was said only the most courageous were willing to try it.

² – You can rest assured that Pumpkin Pie was number two. Number three, unfortunately, is Fruitcake.

³ – Other events include: The U.S. announced its trade embargo against Cuba. John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, John Lennon secretly married Cynthia Powell, The first Major League Baseball game was played in Dodger Stadium, Neptune and Pluto aligned for the first time in 400 years, The United States Supreme Court ruled that mandatory prayers in public schools are unconstitutional, A locust swarm threatened New Delhi, James Meredith became the first black student, The Cuban Missile Crisis,

The Births of: Sheryl Crow, Jon Bon Jovi, Matthew Broderick, MC Hammer, Tom Cruise,
Demi Moore, and Jodie Foster.

And the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to John Steinbeck.

⁴ – Holiday period; December 25th – January 7th. I, however, am not linking the extra 160 deaths to the gross consumption of eggnog. You may leave that to your own imagination as to why 160 more people died than the previous year. But for the curious, eggnog nutritional facts may be found here: Eggnog Nutritional Values

⁵ – You’ll never know how long it took me to word that. Here’s the original factoid: “…based on the amount of eggnog drunk reported in the survey, these individuals consume four times the amount of egg consumed from other sources.”