Egg liqueur: everything you need to know about the ideal Easter drink

Next to Christmas, Easter is probably the most important festival of the year. Quite apart from its ecclesiastical significance, at Easter we celebrate the arrival of spring and the end of the cold season - which is also reflected in the culinary traditions of the festival. Greens on Maundy Thursday, fish on Good Friday, lamb on Easter Sunday - we all know the order of the dishes. But what do we actually drink at Easter? The answer is pretty obvious: eggnog!

In our article on eggnog, you can find out everything you need to know about the ideal Easter drink, our simple but really good eggnog recipe, where you can get good ready-made eggnog and which other drinks play a role at Easter. Let's start with some useful facts.

Interesting facts about eggnog

Egg liqueur began its triumphal march around the world in the 17th century. At that time, a Dutchman whose surname still adorns the label of the best-selling egg liqueur brand developed the recipe for the cult drink.

Hard to believe: the creamy texture of the avocado inspired the eggnog.

However, Eugen Verpoorten did not come up with the idea for eggnog on his own. The forerunner of eggnog lies in another drink that actually has nothing at all to do with the chicken product. It was the indigenous people of Brazil who showed the European seafarers "abacate" - a refreshing drink made from the ripe flesh of the avocado. The sailors mixed cane sugar and rum into the avocado drink and brought the liqueur-like drink back to Europe under the name "Advocaat". However, avocados were hard to come by on the European mainland at the time. So they looked for alternatives that could imitate the creamy consistency of the avocado - and ended up with advocaat.

What goes into eggnog?

As the name suggests, eggnog consists mainly of eggs, or egg yolks to be precise. This is mixed with sugar and alcohol - and in many local recipes also with milk, cream or condensed milk. However, according to the EU Food Regulation, these dairy products have no place in egg liqueur (produced for retail).

Even today, the name Advocaat can still be found on one or two egg liqueur bottles - and not without reason: only products that contain at least 140g of eggs and 150g of sugar per liter and have a minimum alcohol content of 14% vol. may be called Advocaat egg liqueur.

Fortunately, the requirements for home production are not so strict. However, there are a few things you should bear in mind if you want to make your own eggnog at home.

The recipe for making your own eggnog

Whether thick and creamy or rather runny, with a strong alcohol note or rather delicately sweet - how exactly your eggnog tastes is entirely up to you. While an eggnog recipe with condensed milk is more for fans of a thick liqueur that you can almost spoon, milk provides a thinner texture. The most popular version is probably the one with cream, which is somewhere between the two extremes.

There are also few limits to the imagination when it comes to the alcohol used. The only important thing is that it should be at least 38% by volume. Whether you choose rum, vodka or grain is entirely up to you. If you prefer something a little fruitier, you can also use fruit brandies such as kirsch or raspberry brandy.

Wine spirit is traditionally used for egg liqueur because it is neutral in taste and has a decent alcohol content of at least 70 % vol. However, neutral alcohol is not easy to find on the spirits shelf; you usually have to go to the pharmacy or buy the product online. If you want to make things easier for yourself and don't mind a bit of flavor in your eggnog, use a higher-proof spirit from your own home bar. We have our favorite recipe with white rum for you here:

Recipe: Eggnog with white rum

The eggnog recipe with white rum

Ingredients:
for approx. 1.5 l

• 8 egg yolks (room temperature)
• 250 g powdered sugar
• pulp of one vanilla pod
• 400 ml cream
• 200-250 ml white rum (e.g. Ron Elba White Rum | 24,90€)

Preparation:

1. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg yolks with the vanilla pulp and powdered sugar until frothy.
2. Add the cream and stir over a bain-marie (not too hot) for around five minutes. Caution: The mixture must not get too hot, otherwise the egg will curdle.
3. Remove the egg mixture from the heat and stir in the white rum. Season to taste & fill into bottles.

Your homemade eggnog is ready! By the way, you can also enjoy eggnog without alcohol! For alcohol-free eggnog, use either the same amount of an alcohol-free rum alternative such as this Lyre's Spiced Cane Spirit or simply fruit juice instead of rum! This makes the liqueur a little more liquid and fruity, but doesn't lose its creamy character.

Useful tips for egg liqueur

Here you will find useful tips about eggnog

Why actually heat it up?

As the nasty and not-so-harmless salmonella bacteria can occur in raw eggs, it is important to sterilize the eggs. One way to do this is to heat them over a water bath, which is sure to kill germs.

However, there is also another method in which you can take advantage of the germ-killing effect of alcohol: first mix the eggs with the alcohol and store the mixture at room temperature for a few days before processing it into eggnog.

No matter which method you use: The eggs should be as fresh as possible. This way you avoid unpleasant flavors.

If your eggnog doesn't turn out the way you imagined it

We've all been there: the recipes sound really easy and yet somehow you've done something wrong and the end product is anything but presentable. Not with us! Here are a few tips for common problems when making your own eggnog:

• Your eggnog is too runny: More cream! If you need more than just a sip of cream because your eggnog tastes more like water than liquid gold, feel free to add more egg yolk.

• Ifyour eggnog tastes too strongly of alcohol: here too, more cream and more egg yolk will help. But remember to heat the egg you add later over a water bath.

• Your egg mixture is flaky: The problem here is probably that the eggs have been heated too quickly and/or too much. Always make sure to bring the eggs to room temperature first. If your mixture flakes, remove it from the bain-marie immediately and continue stirring. Finally, pour the mixture through a sieve. To be on the safe side, check again that you have removed the mixture from the heat in time: If you're unlucky, your eggnog will taste more like scrambled eggs than a sweet dessert.

• Your eggnog is too thick: Especially after a few days in the fridge, the liquid tends to thicken and is then difficult to get out of the bottle. Shake vigorously to help! If this still doesn't have the desired effect, carefully add a few sips of milk and alcohol.

What is the shelf life of homemade eggnog?

• Unopened: approx. 3-4 weeks

• Open bottle: Store in the fridge & use within a few days

In general, you should make sure to store the eggnog in a cool, dark place.

What to do with the remaining egg white?

As you only use the egg yolk for the liqueur, there will be quite a lot of egg white left over. But you don't have to throw them away!

You can use the remaining egg whites to make excellent meringue (also known as meringue)!

How to enjoy eggnog properly?

The ideal drinking temperature for eggnog is between 10 and 12°C. However, the liqueur also tastes delicious fresh and still warm. It is entirely up to you whether you drink your eggnog neat or use it to enhance your cakes and desserts.

Buying eggnog

Don't feel like making your own eggnog, but don't want to buy mainstream products from the supermarket shelves? No problem! Here you can find really good eggnog that is made by hand in small factories using really good ingredients:

• Rübbelberg premium e ggnog | from €12.50

• Organic egg liqueur | from € 4.00

Other suitable Easter drinks

There is one drink that goes particularly well with Easter dishes: wine!

Even though eggnog goes perfectly with Easter yeast pastries, it's only suitable as an after-dinner drink after the Easter feast. So here are a few drink recommendations that go well with traditional Easter dishes:

• Green dishes for Green Thursday: tart, fresh white wine, e.g: Louie Louie organic white wine cuveé dry

• Fish on Good Friday: preferably sparkling, e.g. Prosecco Frizzante Villa Noberini | light, dry wines, e.g.: 2019 Filari Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo | best with herring: beer, e.g. Steamworks Brewing Co. craft lager

• Roast lamb on Easter Sunday: fruity and spicy red wine, e.g.: 2016 Dievole Novecento Riserva

You can find our complete range of wines here. We wish you a happy Easter!