Eggnog traces its roots to medieval England, where a hot drink called posset, made from spiced cream, eggs, sugar, and alcohol, was a staple of everyday life from at least the fifteenth century onward. Over the following centuries, this rich concoction crossed the Atlantic, picked up new spirits, and became the cold, sweet holiday drink Americans recognize today.
Posset: The Medieval Ancestor
Long before anyone called it eggnog, the English were drinking posset. The drink was made by pouring heated, spiced cream over a warm mixture of eggs, sugar, and alcohol, typically sack (a fortified wine similar to sherry) or ale. Recipes varied widely. Some expected the mixture to curdle, others didn’t. Some called for wine, others for beer. But the basic formula of dairy, eggs, and booze remained consistent.
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, posset was considered medicine as much as indulgence. John Russell’s 1475 household manual, the “Boke of Nurture,” recommended it to settle the stomach. Other sources from the period listed it as a cure for the plague, a hangover preventive, a digestive aid, a sleep aid, and even an aphrodisiac. Its richness made people believe it was “strengthening,” and it was given in charity to the poorest members of society, so virtually everyone in England would have drunk it at some point in their lives.
Because posset required eggs, cream, and imported wine or spirits, the most elaborate versions were expensive. By the seventeenth century, the aristocracy drank their egg-based concoctions with sherry as a deliberate sign of wealth.
How Eggnog Came to America
When English colonists brought the drink to North America, they ran into a practical problem: sherry and wine shipped from England were expensive. Rum traded from the Caribbean Islands was far cheaper and readily available. Colonial eggnog quickly became a rum drink, and each region developed its own version. Southern families, with access to local distilleries, preferred bourbon or whiskey instead.
The drink took hold as a holiday tradition across the colonies, partly because winter was when dairy and eggs could be safely stored without spoiling and partly because the Christmas season was already associated with rich, celebratory food. Eggnog became so embedded in American culture that one of the most famous recipes attributed to a founding figure, George Washington, calls for a genuinely staggering amount of alcohol: two cups of brandy, one cup of rye whiskey, one cup of dark rum, and half a cup of sherry, all in a single batch.
Where the Name Comes From
The word “eggnog” first appears in print around 1775 in American English. It combines “egg” with “nog,” a term for a strong ale brewed in Norfolk, England, documented as early as the 1670s. Some linguists think “nog” may be related to “noggin,” a small wooden mug, but the connection is uncertain. Either way, the name is straightforwardly descriptive: eggs mixed with strong drink.
The Eggnog Riot of 1826
Perhaps the best illustration of how deeply Americans took to eggnog is what happened at the U.S. Military Academy on Christmas Eve, 1826. Cadets at West Point had a longstanding tradition of celebrating the holiday with homemade eggnog, but Superintendent Colonel Thayer had imposed strict rules forbidding alcohol on campus. A group of cadets took this as a challenge and smuggled in enough liquor to throw what they hoped would be the best holiday party West Point had ever seen.
At least seventy cadets joined in. The celebration spiraled into a full-blown riot, with assaults on two officers and smashed windows across North Barracks. The aftermath was severe: nineteen cadets and one soldier were court-martialed, and eleven cadets were expelled. The incident became known as the Eggnog Riot and remains one of the more colorful episodes in West Point’s history.
Eggnog Around the World
The basic idea of mixing eggs, sugar, dairy, and alcohol into a rich holiday drink isn’t uniquely American or even English. Cultures across the globe developed their own versions, many with roots in the same European tradition that produced posset.
- Rompope in Mexico and Central America uses vanilla and cinnamon, with regional twists. In Costa Rica alone, some versions add coconut while others leave out the sugar entirely.
- Coquito in Puerto Rico swaps dairy milk for coconut milk and coconut cream, mixed with rum.
- Ponche crema in Venezuela is a creamy, sweetened egg punch often flavored with lime zest.
- Cola de mono in Chile combines coffee, milk, and aguardiente (a grape-based spirit) with the familiar eggs and sugar.
- Advocaat in the Netherlands is a thick, custard-like liqueur made from egg yolks, sugar, and brandy.
- Eierlikör in Germany is a similar egg liqueur, often denser than its Dutch cousin.
- Kogel mogel in Poland is a simpler, often non-alcoholic preparation of egg yolks beaten with sugar, traditionally given to children with sore throats.
From Homemade to Store-Bought
For most of its history, eggnog was made at home, which carried real risk. Raw eggs can harbor salmonella, and traditional recipes don’t always call for enough heat to kill it. Commercial production solved this by pasteurizing the mixture, and modern manufacturers use ultra-high-temperature processing that extends shelf life well beyond what conventional pasteurization allows, without significantly changing the drink’s color, flavor, or texture.
In the United States, the FDA sets a legal standard for anything labeled “eggnog”: it must contain at least 1 percent egg yolk solids by weight. That might sound low, but it’s enough to distinguish real eggnog from flavored milk products that try to imitate it. Commercial formulations vary by region depending on what dairy ingredients are locally available, which is why store-bought eggnog in different parts of the country can taste noticeably different.
Despite the convenience of cartons, homemade eggnog remains common during the holidays. The core recipe hasn’t changed much in 500 years: eggs, cream, sugar, spice, and something strong to drink.