Winter Cocktail Series: Jamaican Eggnog

Merry Christmas!  The holidays are upon us, and that calls for seasonal cocktails.  A few weeks ago we detailed the best recipe for an espresso martini, but now that Christmas is here, we need something that tastes like it.  There are few drinks that bring Christmas to your tastebuds quite like eggnog.  But what’s better than plain eggnog?  Jamaican Eggnog.

You might ask – what makes the eggnog Jamaican?  Myers’s Rum, which is made from pure Jamaican molasses, gives the drink its cultural and flavor profile uniqueness.  Not only does it provide the holiday kick you need for dealing with certain family members, it blends perfectly with eggnog’s components.  Matured for up to four years in white oak barrels, this dark rum adds power and intense flavor.  With the right ratio, it will help cut through the eggnog’s heavier ingredients, especially if you use cream.  Our recipe below excludes cream and gets straight to the point.  Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 12 eggs (for a fluffier eggnog, separate the whites from the yolk, but we like using the entire egg to balance out the rum – see below 🙂 )
• 5 cups skim milk (alternatively, substitute 1 cup heavy cream)
• 10 shots Myers’s dark rum
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (add more as desired – it provides great balance to Myers’s rum)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine the sugar and egg yolks, and beat until thickened.
2. Add the milk to a large pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Beat the milk into the eggs and return to the pan over low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture almost starts boiling and is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Strain from the pan into a large bowl and let cool.
3. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for 4 hours minimum, but ideally overnight so the flavors have the chance to marry each other.
4. Serve cold in small portions (it’s powerful, but delicious!).