Eggnog Takes on Special Importance in Michigan
The holiday season is upon us, and it’s truly a wonderful time of the year. One holiday tradition for many is enjoying Christmas cocktails with Christmas dinner. As it turns out, eggnog takes on some special importance in Michigan. When it comes to holiday cocktails, I always love to see what kinds of festive drinks restaurants and bars come up with this time of year. Some of the drinks even come with little holiday decorations, which I find super cute. It’s certainly a time of year to get creative with holiday fun, and that includes festive cocktails.
Most Popular Christmas Cocktails, Including Eggnog
The crew at Drinksworld has put together a roster of the most popular Christmas cocktails in each state using search data. “Our research shows that regional favorites span an impressive variety of both hot and cold beverages, paired with a delightful mix of timeless classics and modern cocktails,” a spokesperson from the company said.
What’s interesting is that one drink really is the most popular in America, and that drink is eggnog. It’s a holiday favorite. Eggnog was the top pick in 12 states, more than any other drink. Other popular drinks included hot buttered rum, Christmas punch, cranberry mimosa, coquito, Irish coffee and brandy Alexander. Hot buttered rum was actually the No. 2 most popular drink across the country, with 10 states picking that as a favorite.
So, what is eggnog? According to Simply Recipes, eggnog is, “A traditional holiday drink dating back hundreds of years, eggnog is made with eggs (hence the name), milk, cream, spices like nutmeg and vanilla, and fortified with rum, whisky, and/or brandy. We grew up with eggnog, the kind you buy in a carton, and every Christmas holiday we kids drank up as much of it as we could.” Eggnog is really the perfect thing to drink while listening to Christmas music or doing other holiday things.
As for the history of eggnog, according to the National Library of Medicine, “Culinary historians have traced the origins of (eggnog) to the medieval British punch called ‘posset,’ warm milk curdled with alcohol such as wine or beer, flavored with spices.” They add that in medieval Europe, “monks added their own twist by serving posset with figs and eggs” and that by the 17 century, “the aristocracy drank their egg nogs with sherry as a sign of wealth.” It’s wild to think that this holiday tradition dates back to medieval times.
So, what’s the most popular Christmas cocktail in Michigan? Not surprisingly, it’s eggnog, according to the report. So, Michigan is like a lot of the country in the state’s love for eggnog.
