In general, I think eggnog tastes better sans alcohol, although I've experimented at length with various alcoholic additives, including whiskey, bourbon, rum, and finally Jägermeister—my all-time favorite. Prior to this beverage, I'd never tried a liqueur version, nor had I ever mixed eggnog with brandy.
It works very well. It's basically what you'd expect from a very fine eggnog mixed with top-shelf French brandy and spiced rum. I feel like the spices are slightly more pungent than usual, but they're blended oh-so-perfectly in this instance.
This eggnog liqueur is super creamy, but not too thick. As much as I love creamy beverages—everything from fruit smoothies to blended coffee drinks to milkshakes to eggnog—I've never wanted them particularly thick. A thin beverage is more drinkable in my opinion, more chuggable—not that you'd ever chug Trader Joe's Old Fashioned Egg Nog Liqueur. It's best when sipped slowly, savored, and meditated upon. It's probably one of the best eggnog beverages I've ever tried—certainly the best pre-mixed version containing alcohol. Superb.
I, personally, think it's time to force beverage companies to put nutrition facts and ingredients on all their alcoholic products. I would think a drink as apparently top quality as this one shouldn't have many ugly secrets to hide. It would be a great selling point if they did publish them on the bottle, whether they were forced to or not. I'm sure it has more calories than we'd want it to, but at least we wouldn't be completely in the dark.
$7.99 for the bottle. Just under 15% ABV, so it's on par with a red wine as far as alcohol content is concerned.
Eggnog has grown on Sonia since we've been together. She wasn't really a fan when I met her, but now, she's down with the nog. She's in agreement that Trader Joe's Old Fashioned Egg Nog Liqueur is a very tasty concoction. Four stars from her. Four and a half from me.
Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.
What's your favorite brand of eggnog? I love Organic Valley. It's got a nice thin texture, and it tastes clean. No weird ingredients. With food, I often debate whether to try something new, risking disappointment and wasting money, or stick with what I like. The holidays feel like a good time to go with what you know, you know? Comforting traditions and all that.
ReplyDeleteI made eggnog once, which was amazing and (of course) better than anything store bought!
I'll have to try both Organic Valley and making my own, although I fear the latter may be a disaster! I've always liked Southern Comfort brand (non-alcoholic). Hood or Turkey Hill will do in a pinch, although I haven't seen them since we left the east coast.
DeleteOn average, eggnog has 223 kcal per cup (254 g). Ethanol has 7 kcal per gram. For a mixture of the two with 15% ABW, the caloric density of your drink is 1.815 kcal per gram. If there are approximately 240g in a cup of a fluid whose density is about the same as water, then your beverage contains about 436 kcal per cup.
ReplyDeletedoes this have eggs in it?
ReplyDelete