14 egg nog cocktail recipes from Vancouver's top bartenders

When it comes to the holidays, there’s arguably no beverage more famous than egg nog, a staple in North America for over a century. With a frothy texture and creamy sweetness that takes beautifully to spirits like brandy, rum and bourbon, this yuletide classic — borrowed and adapted from our friends over in Great Britain — has inspired countless cocktail recipes.

In the spirit of giving, we asked a few of the city’s best restaurants and bars to share a signature egg nog cocktail from their arsenal.

Pressed Apple Flip

Ron Oliver, Mamie Taylor’s

This spirited egg nog cocktail, courtesy of Mamie Taylor’s Ron Oliver, is refreshingly light thanks to the absence of cream as well as the use of non-traditional egg nog accompaniments like Port and Pisco.

~ serves one

Ingredients: 

• 30 mL Calvados
• 20 mL Housemade Port
• 20 mL Pisco
• 30 mL Cloudy Apple Juice
• 7.5 mL Vanilla Syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• 1 Whole Egg

Method:

Combine ingredients in mixing glass filled with ice, and shake vigorously. Strain into a large chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with dash of angostura bitters

Cogg Nogg

Created by Lauren Mote for YEW seafood + bar

Specially created by Lauren Mote, and executed by the amazing team at YEW seafood + bar, this fun and festive cocktail is served in a playful moose mug and features a house-made Darjeeling tea syrup.

~ serves one

Ingredients: 

• 1.5 oz Hennessy VS Cognac
• 2 oz 36% Cream
• 1 oz Darjeeling Tea Syrup (Ghorka Summer Flush Tea)*
• 1 Whole Egg
• 2 dashes Malagasy Chocolate Bitters
• Grated Nutmeg

*Darjeeling Tea Syrup

• 2 tsp Summer Flush Tea
• 1 cup Hot Water
• 1 cup of Demerara Packed Sticky Dark Sugar

In a heat-safe container, add tea and hot water and let steep for 30 minutes. Remove tea and add sugar. Stir to dissolve.

Method:

Add all ingredients, except nutmeg, and shake vigorously without ice to emulsify the egg. Add ice and shake again. Double strain to a festive mug, and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Dale Degroff’s Uncle Angelo’s Egg nog

Robyn Gray, Prohibition at Hotel Georgia

Robyn Gray of Prohibition at Hotel Georgia shared his go-to holiday cocktail recipe, the Dale Degroff’s ‘Uncle Angelo’s Egg nog’.

~ serves 8

Ingredients:

• 6 Eggs (separated)
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1 quart Milk
• Pint Cream
• 6 oz Bourbon
• 6 oz Spiced Rum
• 1 Whole Nutmeg

Method:

Beat egg yolks with half the sugar until they turn light in colour. Add milk, cream and liquor. Beat egg whites with sugar until they peak. Fold the whites into the mixture. Pour cocktail into cups. Garnish with grated nutmeg, and serve.

The Cuban Nog

Donnie Wheeler, Havana Club

Submitted by Havana Club Brand Ambassador Donnie Wheeler, this recipe — like the man himself — is spiked with a shot of high-octane caffeine.

~ serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 Whole Eggs
• 90g Super Fine Sugar
• ½ tsp Grated Nutmeg
• 60 mL Havana Club 7 Year Old Rum
• 180 mL Whole Milk
• 120 mL Heavy Cream
• 60 mL Cold Brew Coffee

Method:

Whisk together eggs, nutmeg and sugar until fluffy. Add rum, milk, cream and coffee. Chill cocktail, and serve.

Ted & Sherry

Trixie Blümel, Café Medina

Trixie Blümel’s festive and full-bodied cocktail offers sweet nuttiness and subtle spices. It is surprisingly bright and refreshing.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Flor de Caña 5 YO Rum
• ½ oz Alvear Fino Montilla Sherry
• ½ oz Pure Maple Syrup
• 1 oz Buttermilk
• 1 Fresh Whole Egg
• 2 dashes Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters
• Bittered Sling Malagasy Chocolate Bitters

Method:

Rinse a chilled old-fashioned glass with two dashes of Malagasy Chocolate bitters. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Whisk vigorously together with a bar spoon, and shake hard with ice. Double strain into your chilled old-fashioned glass, and dash with Fee Brothers bitters.

Egg Nog Kiss

Justin Taylor, Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar

Simplicity is key for me for holiday entertaining, and this recipe only requires measuring cups and a blender to pull off in style.

~ serves 4

Ingredients: 

• 4 Large Eggs
• ½ cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 tsp Fresh Ground Nutmeg
• ½ tsp Fresh Ground Allspice
• 8 oz Bourbon
• 12 oz Whole Milk
• 8 oz 36% Cream

Method:

In a standard kitchen blender, add eggs and sugar. Turn blender on the lowest setting to incorporate sugar and egg for 30 seconds. Add grated nutmeg, rum, milk and cream while blender is still running. Cover with lid and blend for an additional 20 seconds at high speed.

Place in refrigerator to chill for at least one hour before serving. Pour into your favourite holiday cocktail glasses and garnish with a touch more nutmeg.

Coco-Nog

Nelson Navasero, Pidgin

Nelson Navasero’s Coco-Nog is rich and creamy. It has some spice/heat from the ginger, and the clove gives it a seasonal feel.

Ingredients:

• 45 mL Clove Spiced Rum
• 10 mL Chartreuse
• 30 mL Coconut Milk
• 20 mL Pineapple Syrup
• Egg Yolk

Method:

Shake and strain over ice, top with crushed ice and toasted coconut and orange zest.

To Zion

Stefano Righetti, Guilt & Co.

Guilt & Co.’s egg nog-esque cocktail is wonderfully smooth, and boasts boozy traditional holiday flavours.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Mount Gay XO Rum
• ½ oz House Made Chestnut Vanilla Syrup (A Stefano Righetti recipe)
• ½ oz Amaro Montenegro
• ½ oz Lemon Juice
• 1 Whole Egg
• Grated Nutmeg for garnish on top

Method:

Combine all ingredients into a shaker. Dry Shake and double strain into a stemmed glass. Grate fresh nutmeg on top. Serve immediately and enjoy.

SlaughterNog

Thor Paulson, L’Abattoir 

L’Abattoir’s Slaughternog offers patrons a twist on the classic egg nog that is complex yet true to the original at the same time.

~ makes 2L

Ingredients:

• 24 Eggs
• 2 cups Superfine Sugar
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• ½ tsp Ground Allspice
• 500 mL Lemon Hart Demerara Rum
• 375 mL Bourbon
• 12 5mL Yellow Chartreuse
• 75 mL Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao
• 4 cups Whole Milk
• 1 cups Heavy Cream

Method:

Separate egg whites and yolks. Whisk yolks together slowly while adding sugar until smooth. Slowly add in spices to the yolks. Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold the egg whites into the yolks mixture. Slowly add cream and milk, then add the run, bourbon and curacao while stirring. Cover and refrigerate.

Pisco (not-sour) Nog

Matt Cooke, bartneder at Ancora

Matt Cooke takes Ancora’s always popular Pisco Sour and gives it a Peruvian holiday twist.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ oz Campo de Encanto Grand and Noble Pisco (from Peru)
• 1 ½ oz Fresh Cream
• ¾ oz Pineapple and Winter Spice Syrup*
• 1 Whole Egg

Method:

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake hard, without ice. Add ice and shake again. Strain into a old-fashioned glass, and garnish with fresh grated cinnamon and sweetened pineapple chunks.

Chef Erik’s Homemade Egg Nog & Spiced Rum

Chef Erik, WildTale and The Flying Pig

WildTale and all three locations of The Flying Pig are offering a special drink for the season, Chef Erik’s homemade egg nog with spiced rum. They infuse the dark rum with real vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, clove, and orange peel.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Milk
• 5 Clove Pieces
• 2.5 tsp of Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• ½ tsp Nutmeg
• 16 Egg Yolks
• 1.5 cup Sugar
• 2 cup of Half and Half
• 2 cup Heavy Cream

Method:

Combine milk, cream, half and half, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla extract and slowly bring the mixture to a low boil, all on low heat.

In a large bowl whisk the sugar and egg yolks until fluffy. Temper (slowly pour) the hot liquid into the yolk and sugar mixture.

Pour the liquid into a pot and cook on very low heat stirring constantly with a spatula. Cook until desired thickness, do not boil. Strain and cool. Add dark spiced rum and serve.

Rum

Ingredients:

• Dark rum
• Real vanilla bean
• Cinnamon stick
• Clove
• Orange peel

Method:

Either add contents to rum bottle and take out after five days, or put all ingredients into a container and funnel back into the bottle after five days.

Combine egg nog and rum. Shake it over ice and strain. Serve with a jumbo ice cube, a dash of nutmeg and a cinnamon stick

The Nog’ofino

Julia Diakow, Tacofino

The Nog’ofino is a light and frothy spirit-forward drink with hints of nutty Christmas cake, coffee and warming spices that works wonderfully as a batched cocktail for holiday entertaining. Julia suggests pre-batching a few days ahead of time as the flavours will only combine and intensify over time.

~ serves 50

Ingredients:

• 48 Eggs
• 4 cups Superfine Sugar
• 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 1 tsp Ground Allspice
• 1 L El Jimador Reposado Tequila
• 750 mL Kraken Rum
• 500 mL Becherovka
• 9 cups Cashew Milk
• 3 cups Heavy Cream
• 100 dashes Apothecary Cacao Coffee Bitters

Method:

Separate egg whites and yolks. Whisk yolks while slowly adding sugar until smooth. Slowly add ground spices to yolks. Whisk whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into yolk mixture. Slowly add bitters, cream and cashew milk. Slowly add booze while stirring.

Refrigerate (covered) until ready to serve. Garnish with grated nutmeg and serve alongside a Tacofino El Diablo cookie.

Sloppy Nog

Satoshi Yonemori, Grapes & Soda

An aromatic cocktail with hints of clove, cinnamon and cardamom and a nice earthy finish from the sunchoke and ginger. Packed with lots of spice from the Becherovka.

Ingredients:

• 30 mL Spiced Rum
• 10 mL Becherovka
• 20 mL Bulleit Bourbon
• 1 Fresh Whole Egg
• 5 mL Salted Caramel Syrup
• 10 mL Vanilla Syrup
• 5 mL Ginger Syrup
• Housemade Sunchoke Purée
• Milk

Method:

Shake all ingredients together in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with star anise and cinamon dust.

Pourhouse Egg Nog

Rhett Williams, Pourhouse

Bar Manager Rhett Williams offers a classic egg nog drink using the best quality spirits. The end result is a rich, delicious glass of Christmas-y goodness… molasses, dried fruits and cloves… boozy but soft and approachable.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac
• 1 oz Appleton 12 Yr Jamaican rum
• 1 oz Turbinado Simple Syrup (1:1)
• 1 oz half & half cream
• 1-2 dashes Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters
• 1 Whole Egg

Method:

Add all ingredients into your choice of shaker and add ice (the bigger/denser the better – avoid using anything small or wet as the egg needs to be emulsified to get a good texture). Shake hard until your shaker tin is frosty. Double strain (use a sieve) into a rocks/old fashioned glass.

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