Aged Egg Nog

It’s the First of November, and you might think it’s too early to be thinking about Egg Nog.

It is not too early.

We didn’t splurge on the bourbon, but you certainly can. And we also reused the bottle — but you’ll need several, or two growlers, to store all the nog.

This Aged Egg Nog needs a good month to sit and get happy. Really, two months is better, and it will last for a year. So right now is the perfect time to make it.

This recipe is based on Michael Ruhlman’s 30-Day Eggnog, and in his notes he says it takes about a day to “pasteurize,” but some studies (because people have studied this), it can take up to 30 days for the alcohol to eliminate all possible bacteria.

Aged Egg Nog

• 12 egg yolks

• 2 cups sugar

• 1 liter bourbon, whisky, whiskey, or even scotch

• 4 cups whole milk

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1-1/2 cups rum, cognac, brandy in any combination (do not use flavored)

• 1 tsp salt

1. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth and creamy.

2. Add everything else and stir to combine.

3. Pour into glass jars to store. You can use two beer growlers, reuse empty liquor bottles, or if you’re going to be gifting some of it, use fancy bottles.

4. Store in the refrigerators for one month, or up to one year. Maybe more? You’ll find that the flavor will change slightly as it ages, but it won’t get super-funky.

5. Serve as you like, maybe with some whipped cream or meringue, freshly grated nutmeg, or cinnamon. You won’t need to add any more booze.

We have access to a lot of egg yolks from Kakao, as they use the whites for marshmallow pies. You can make a meringue or angel food cake or maybe even marshmallows.

Quick Tip: According to Ruhlman, 20 percent alcohol by weight will keep any dairy or eggs from going bad.