Make Ahead

Clyde Common's Better Eggnog

November 19, 2014
4.6
5 Ratings
Photo by Mark Weinberg
  • Prep time 4 hours
  • Serves Many (makes about one gallon)
Author Notes

This recipe comes from Jeffrey Morgenthaler of Portland's Clyde Common, and it's all we'll ever make over the holidays anymore. He smartly swaps Amontillado sherry and añejo tequila for the syrupy rums that normally shack up with eggnog’s requisite eggs and truckload of dairy. It’s smoky and it’s nuanced, and for both of these reasons it makes consuming a glass full of cream and raw eggs not feel like an exhaustive exercise.

A caveat: You will have to blend in batches. One full recipe will in no way fit in a standard blender, and while having such a large quantity of this sweet, spiked eggnog is a blessing from the heavens, it can also be a little scary when blitzed on high speed. —Kenzi Wilbur

Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
  • 12 eggs
  • 2 1/4 cups superfine sugar
  • 12 ounces añejo tequila
  • 15 ounces Amontillado sherry
  • 36 ounces whole milk
  • 24 ounces heavy cream
  • 1 dash Freshly grated nutmeg for garnish
Directions
  1. In a blender or a stand mixer, beat the eggs until smooth, then slowly add in the sugar.
  2. Add in the rest of the ingredients save for the nutmeg, and blend until everything is incorporated. If you're using a blender, you'll have to do this part in batches. (My favorite way to blend this quantity of eggnog is in a big pot with an immersion blender.)
  3. Refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours) and serve in punch glasses with a little grated nutmeg over the top.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

6 Reviews

Megan C. December 29, 2022
Raves all-around for our holiday gatherings! No one could believe the ingredients or how smooth it was. Continued to research this recipe beyond Food52 to find that establishment, Clyde Common, makes their nog several weeks in-advance, presumably to let the flavors meld, and for the alcohol sort itself out. I did the same and everything mellowed to a silky smooth blend, very drinkable and enjoyed by everyone!
goodTasha December 29, 2017
I try a new Egg Nog every year. Never again. This is it.
epicharis November 5, 2017
This is going to sound like heresy, but we made this last year with cashew milk and Swerve confectioners (a brand of powdered erythritol) and---we preferred it to the original. I know, I know. But it was so good and best of all we felt like we could drink it without our stomachs aching. I strongly recommend this substitution to anyone who's curious but blanching at the thought of so much sugar and dairy.
epicharis December 25, 2015
This is a revelation. We love it and some alleged eggnog-haters in our house can't get enough. Thank you for a new Christmas tradition.
ifjuly December 17, 2015
Made this last year and really enjoyed it as a solution to traditional nog's cloying aspect. Just wondering though, how long does it keep? I'd like to know in the future how far in advance I can make it (so I can leave last minute stress for cookie decorating!).
Katie S. December 21, 2014
This was fantastic. Never going back to rum in my nog again. Cheers!