It is thought the recipe originated in medieval Britain (and the name does sound like antiquated English). But it didn't become associated with the festive season until it travelled to North America in the 1700s. In the 20th century, eggnog at Christmas and New Year's was fashionable with the British upper classes. Today, there are variations of the drink all over the Americas and Europe.
Despite spending most of my life in the England, I didn't try eggnog until last week - in Singapore - when an Asian friend suggested we try it! Before this, I had not been keen on the idea of alcohol and raw egg together. (Also, in 1980's the UK had various health scares about uncooked eggs, and I think any child of that era has a slight suspicion of them!)
There are many different recipes for eggnog - using brandy, whiskey, rum or other spirits, yolk of the egg, or yolk and white, plus variations on spices and dairy. Generally it consists of spirit(s), egg, cream or milk, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Our try in Singapore was made with cognac.
The verdict:
Extremely yummy! The recipe is not that far removed from ice-cream, and eggnog is like a smooth, sweet, custard cocktail. And perhaps not 100% dissimilar in flavour from the ready-made drink Baileys (though fresher, and nicer). Eggnog is extremely rich and calorific, however, and I don't think you would need more than one at a time!
Here is Martha Stewart's recipe for the cocktail, but there are many more online (including non-alcoholic versions). One egg usually serves two people :)
http://www.marthastewart.com/355404/marthas-classic-eggnog
We drank ours at the Singapore bar here: http://www.maisonikkoku.co/
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