Yesterday at the supermarket, we stood in line behind a man purchasing a quart of egg nog. WOS suggested the man probably just had some leftover rum, but we suspect he may simply be a true nog enthusiast. This got us wondering about how many nog-lovers there are throughout this great land of ours--those for whom the days, weeks, months between advents are one constant supermarket scavenger hunt. We conducted (or, more accurately, made up) some research and here present some fun facts about this time-honored yuletide treat.
First, to the question of egg nog's popularity: In the 2003 National American Drinks Survey (the last year for which complete data was available), 1.3% of respondents named nog their favorite beverage. While far behind coffee, cola, and water, nog placed higher than Tab, Zima, or Coca-Cola Blak.
President Calvin Coolidge (1923-29) kept a nog-stocked refrigerator in a room off the Oval Office--the same room, incidentally, where President Bill Clinton (1993-2001) had his notorious tryst with Monica Lewinsky.
Like its similarly named cousin the egg cream, traditional egg nog contains neither eggs nor nog. The standard recipe for egg nog calls for equal measurements cream, rum, and spite.
Egg nog's image has over the centuries undergone a 180 degree transformation. Originally devised by the Spanish Inquisition as an alternative to the rack and thumbscrews, egg nog is now seen as a "warm," "homey," and even "tolerable" drink by most. The commercial rehabilitation of nog began in the late 17th century, when Spanish brewmasters began marketing egg nog with the slogan, "Huevo nog. Se no solo de herejes nunca mas!" ("Egg nog. It's not just for heretics anymore!")
In 1926, Barton's Dairy of Lempster, New Hampshire, attempted to expand the market for nog-based drinks beyond the Christmas season. Their summer offering, cheese nog, was not a success.
Subsequent concoctions, including raisin nog, beet nog, and turkey nog met with a similar lack of enthusiasm.
Many Americans confuse egg nog with "wassail"--a traditional liquor associated with Christmas in England. They are not the same thing. In fact, wassail does not exist.
First, to the question of egg nog's popularity: In the 2003 National American Drinks Survey (the last year for which complete data was available), 1.3% of respondents named nog their favorite beverage. While far behind coffee, cola, and water, nog placed higher than Tab, Zima, or Coca-Cola Blak.
President Calvin Coolidge (1923-29) kept a nog-stocked refrigerator in a room off the Oval Office--the same room, incidentally, where President Bill Clinton (1993-2001) had his notorious tryst with Monica Lewinsky.
Like its similarly named cousin the egg cream, traditional egg nog contains neither eggs nor nog. The standard recipe for egg nog calls for equal measurements cream, rum, and spite.
Egg nog's image has over the centuries undergone a 180 degree transformation. Originally devised by the Spanish Inquisition as an alternative to the rack and thumbscrews, egg nog is now seen as a "warm," "homey," and even "tolerable" drink by most. The commercial rehabilitation of nog began in the late 17th century, when Spanish brewmasters began marketing egg nog with the slogan, "Huevo nog. Se no solo de herejes nunca mas!" ("Egg nog. It's not just for heretics anymore!")
In 1926, Barton's Dairy of Lempster, New Hampshire, attempted to expand the market for nog-based drinks beyond the Christmas season. Their summer offering, cheese nog, was not a success.
Subsequent concoctions, including raisin nog, beet nog, and turkey nog met with a similar lack of enthusiasm.
Many Americans confuse egg nog with "wassail"--a traditional liquor associated with Christmas in England. They are not the same thing. In fact, wassail does not exist.
Like the new look!
ReplyDeleteAre you sure about the wassail?
Wackier than usual today, the Solipsist is....Here's what I have to say today: (1)The quote of the day appears to be a heinous little thought from someone who I wouldn't have wanted to know, but I probably meet such people often in the workplace. (2)I drank a lot of egg nog Christmas week. I drank it with sandwiches for lunch. I drank it before and after dinner with rum. It made my 6'3" cousin drunk enough to say stupid things. (He usually doesn't do that.)Now, if egg nog appeared at the supermarket I would not buy it until next Christmas. It's a yuletide treat.
ReplyDeleteAnd now, for today's little lesson under the heading: Those that don't know history should check their Oxfords (the dictionary, not the shoe). Eggnog (one word) was... and IS... made with egg (mixed with the cream and, usually, but not necessarily, booze). What is sold on the supermarket shelves is, actually, an "eggnog" flavoured concoction because (trust me) you don't want beaten up eggs sitting on the shelf! "Nog", by the way, was originally a form of beer, but came to mean, first, any alcoholic beverage served in a (back-formation) "Noggin", a slang term for a mug or stein. The egg cream came about from two, once popular, slang terms: "Egg" used to be considered a special ingredient that sweetened some alcoholic drinks (see: "Egg in your beer"... or see, say, eggnog). "Cream was/is the "elite" (i.e. the "cream" of society). Thus something ultra-ultra was the egg cream. Why the term was applied to something I could get at Jaffe's Candy store for, at the time, a nickle, is anybody's guess. But they were good!
ReplyDeleteOh, I almost forgot: A "wassail" was originally a drinking (alcoholic) party. The name then became attached to the drinks, themselves. So, while there is no one drink that is, specifically, wassail, you can still get a hell of a hangover by wassailing... and, yes, to stretch a point, you COULD call eggnog a (form of) wassail. But that's REALLY picking a nit too far.
ReplyDeleteYou had me there -- wasn't until the part about the Spanish Inquisition that I started chuckling and realized we'd been had!
ReplyDeleteCheers!