John Hayes's Egg Nog
Earlier this year my father lost his best friend John Hayes. John embodied many of the qualities I often wish to see in myself. He was charming, gentle, genuine, and scientifically-minded. He was a geochemist, academically, but his interests were wide-ranging, covering photography, music, food, and drink. He was meticulous without being fussy. If he was having someone over for dinner, he would practice twice in the preceding week making the meal he had planned. He appreciated quality but didn’t make you feel inadequate if you couldn’t observe the same things he did in a fine wine or a high-quality sound system. He expressed deep care and empathy for the people around him and I was always glad that he found his way into my father’s life and—occasionally—mine.
Every year around this time John would make a big batch of egg nog and invite his friends and neighbors over to enjoy it with him. It’s—no lie—the best egg nog I’ve had in my life. After his egg nog party last year, I asked him for the recipe, which he graciously emailed me. True to form, the recipe is brief—less than a page long—but contains seven footnotes, my favorite of which is this note, describing an optional obscure liqueur, Nassau Royale: “A Bacardi vanilla-rum liqueur that may not be available in the U.S., but which is a perfect addition. A trip to the Bahamas may be justified on this basis.” While dad and I weren’t able to locate Nassau Royale at the liquor stores we checked (and we weren’t able to afford a trip to the Bahamas) we made the rest of the recipe today and it was good as ever.
I’m thinking of him today and am grateful to him for leaving us this recipe, among so many other things.
2023-12-11: I’ve made John’s egg nog most years since I wrote this post. I was never able to track down a bottle of Nassau Royale for purchase. A few years ago, when I decided to see if I could order it online, I discovered via a TripAdvisor forum post that it had been discontinued. I was a little heartbroken that I’d never be able to make the recipe as John had intended it. But someone in the same forum thread suggested Licor 43 as a good substitute and I’ve used that most years.
Fate was not content to leave it at that. I was visiting my aunt Holly, who is a very occasional drinker and not at all a cocktail maker, and in the process of exploring the cobwebby corners of her kitchen cabinets, wouldn’t you know, I found a dusty old bottle – who knows how many decades old.
I wasn’t brave enough to incorporate it into my egg nog this year – uncertain how the flavor might have changed over the years – but I did venture a sip. It is indeed sweet, syrupy, and vanilla-flavored and I’m satisfied that Licor 43, while not exactly the same, is indeed an adequate substitute. Consider it my amendment to the recipe – alas, that it can be acquired without a trip to the Bahamas.
2023’s batch:
John Hayes’s Christmas Eggnog¹
Yields about 6 quarts, or 32 6-ounce servings. The alcohol content is about 10% by volume. Begin preparation the night before serving, if possible.
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Blend a dozen egg yolks with a pound of powdered sugar (save the egg whites).
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Slowly add 2 cups bourbon whiskey.²
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Cover, refrigerate, and let stand for at least an hour.³
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Add 2 cups rum,⁴ 1 cup peach brandy,⁵ and, if possible, 1 cup Nassau Royale liqueur.⁶
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Add 1 quart milk. Stir thoroughly to obtain completely even mixture.⁷
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Whip 1 quart cream (not stiff, but not soupy, either) and stir it evenly into the mixture. Do not beat the mixture so strongly that the lightness provided by the whipped cream is lost.
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Cover, refrigerate, and let stand overnight, if possible.
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Just before serving, beat egg whites and fold into the mixture.
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Sprinkle surface with freshly ground nutmeg.
Developed from a recipe provided by Julietta Moran-Barron, an M.I.T. graduate student related to the Mexican ambassador to the United States. When Julietta asked how Americans ought to be entertained at Christmas, the embassy’s chef provided an eggnog recipe that does much to explain the high cost of diplomacy. This version contains modifications derived from the eggnog recipe in the 1962 edition of Joy of Cooking. ↩︎
Expensive bourbon not needed. “Early Times” is fine. ↩︎
Important, dispells “eggy” taste. ↩︎
I prefer dark, more strongly flavored. Original recipe called for twice this amount, which is fine if no one has to drive away from the scene of consumption. ↩︎
Original recipe called for cognac, but this effect is very nice. ↩︎
A Bacardi vanilla-rum liqueur that may not be available in the U.S., but which is a perfect addition. A trip to the Bahamas may be justified on this basis. ↩︎
This is a volume-increasing corruption of the original recipe. It can be omitted. ↩︎