Many cocktails have a season, with cooling beverages like mojitos in summer and rich or hot ones in winter. Eggnog has one of the shortest seasons—late October or November through the end of the year, if you’re buying it premade or seeking a house-made version at your favorite distillery or bar. Historically, it was seen as a holiday beverage because of its richness and warming spices and was sometimes even served warm. Today, manufacturers say it just doesn’t sell outside the holidays, even in regions with months of cold, snowy weather.

If you’re an eggnog fan, the best way to extend the beverage’s season is to make it yourself. But even if you only want to enjoy it on Christmas or New Year’s Eve, the main reason to whip up your own eggnog is all in the glass—a soft, rich flavor in every sip that bears little resemblance to the cloyingly sweet milkshake-style drink that comes in a carton.

Some people hesitate to make their own eggnog because of concerns about using raw eggs. As I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, you can use pasteurized ones, although you’ll be making some of the same texture sacrifices as those accepted by eggnog manufacturers. Fortunately, some scientists at Rockefeller University were unwilling to make those sacrifices and tested the safety of homemade eggnog. They found that homemade eggnog with 20% alcohol was completely sterile after 24 hours.

Learn more about using raw eggs and get the complete recipe for Homemade Shaken Eggnog in my column.

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Twice as Tasty

Eggnog is just one of the cocktails I reserve for cold, wintery evenings by a fire. Here are just a few other winter beverage recipes, with and without alcohol, on the blog. You can find more in the recipe index.

• Norwegian-Style Gløgg
• Hot Buttered Rum
• Homemade Tom & Jerry
• Homemade Golden Milk
• Moroccan-Inspired Mint Tea

For warming and filling, check out the many soup recipes on the blog. You can learn about making one of my winter favorites, Immunity-Boosting Garlic Soup, in this blog post.

Want more Twice as Tasty recipes? Get my books! Click here to order a personally signed, packaged, and shipped copy of The Complete Guide to Pickling directly from me. I also share tasty ways to use pickles in The Pickled Picnic; it’s only available here.