Eggnog Needs Coffee

Earlier today I was out for coffee with my dad and my buddy. We do this once a week together. I love these hangouts. They're good for catching up and having delicious coffee drinks.

The two people I normally go with get Americanos. They like straight up coffee. They don't want anything added to it. The more like coffee it tastes, the better for them. I like to try a bunch of different coffee drinks. I am enamored with espresso tonics right now. They're the best in my opinion. I like how refreshing they taste, and they have a good caffeine boost. But, it's pretty cold here in St Louis right now. We got snow over the weekend and it has stuck to the ground. That means it's quite chilly. I love this weather, but this weather means that iced coffee isn't always the best option. Today I got a hot drink.

We went to a local spot called Shaw's, my dad's favorite, and he and Kirk got their Americanos. I decided to look at the menu a bit. They have their holiday specials going on right now, and I wanted a warm and sweet holiday drink today. As I perused the menu, I kept coming back to the eggnog latte. The other drinks sounded good, but the eggnog one was calling my name. I ordered it and it was fantastic. It wasn't overly sweet. I could taste the eggnog and cinnamon. The coffee was piping hot and it hit the spot.

As I was drinking it and the three of us were chatting, I made the declaration that, even though the drink was excellent, I do not like eggnog unless it is used as a creamer for coffee. Eggnog, for me, is too creamy and gloopy. It has an odd taste when served over ice. I have never had the alcoholic version of it because I don't drink, but I know plenty of people who like it, and I have to assume the NA version tastes very much the same. But, there's something intriguing to me about using it in coffee as opposed to cream and Splenda. As much as I enjoy cream and Splenda, it can be monotonous. It all begins to taste the same. Even if I brew flavored ground coffee, the taste all melds together. So changing things up from time to time is nice and needed. Adding eggnog to the latte was the perfect change of pace. The creaminess really elevated the coffee. The cinnamon gave it a small bite that I enjoyed. Whatever other flavors they put in eggnog, it all worked really well. Like I said, I enjoy sweet, hot coffee. But this was the right amount of sweet. It can be too much if it's too sweet. I see people putting all types of stuff in their coffee drinks that it fails to be coffee in the end. I watched a Dunkin employee the other day put double digit pumps of sweetener in a customer's coffee. It looked like chocolate milk as opposed to coffee. That wasn't the case with this eggnog latte.

I think I'm going to try and recreate this drink as best I can at home. This drink was so good that I'm going to go and buy NA eggnog from my store to make more at home. So, while I won't drink eggnog on its own, it is going to become a creamer in my coffee for the foreseeable future. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Eggnog is the Worst

Yesterday I came at you all with a hot holiday take about a good treat, something I like that maybe others do not. Today I am going to do a similar thing, but this is my hot take of the worst holiday treat.

I could take the easy way out and say Xmas dinner is the worst. It is just a rehash of Thanksgiving, with very few exceptions, and maybe people, my family included, replaces turkey with ham. You have two of the same meals in a one month span of time. But that is boring. I could also call out hot cocoa or any type of chocolate. These are all well and good, and the Reese's peanut butter trees are the best version of that, but that is also a little lazy to me. None of those work. The clichés are way too cliché. For me, here it comes, the worst holiday treat to have at this time is eggnog, be it alcoholic or non.

This drink is vile. It feels like drinking liquified eggs, with some seasonings in it. I am always afraid that it is going to curdle or give me salmonella or go bad. I am not a milk fan to begin with, and eggnog is just a thicker, sweeter milk. I don't drink any alcohol either. I have tried different alcohol, and none of it is for me. The closest I have ever gotten to liking any type of alcohol is Bailey's mixed in coffee. But that was probably just a one time thing. I have tried it again, recently, and it was too strong. I am such a lightweight because I never drink. My wife had some alcoholic eggnog the other night, I gave it a taste, and I told her, "this is awful, it tastes like paint thinner smells". That was about as honest an answer as I could give her. I don't know if it was too much alcohol in it, if it was the gross consistency of the eggnog, or if it were both. I'd have to say it was a little bit of both. It was too strong and too gooey. And for me, this goes for all things eggnog. I have bought my kids eggnog ice cream, tried it, and wanted to throw up. I have had regular eggnog, like a milk carton from the store, and thrown it away the moment I walked in my door. My mother in law has made eggnog cookies before, and she is a tremendously talented baker, and I couldn't even finish a small cookie. I have seen eggnog flavored milk. Why is this a thing? Who wants that? I mean, strawberry milk is gross enough, who wants to have an eggnog flavored milk? That is so gross. I just, I mean, I like eggs, but not in liquid form. It is too dangerous. There are too many things that could go wrong. I would rather try a sushi that could kill me if not prepared correctly. The idea of trying blowfish is more appealing to me than drinking eggnog. I would rather eat a pizza covered in sardines than have an eight ounce cup of eggnog. Give me a jar of olives, which I also despise, and I would choke that down before I would have some eggnog. It just doesn't do it for me. It is too gross. They try to cover up the taste by adding unnecessary spices. Who needs nutmeg and cinnamon in a milk based drink? I won't even put that stuff in my coffee. That is too much for me, and I put Splenda in my coffee.

My wife, my mom and dad, even RD, and I am sure my other brothers and their wives probably like the holiday concoction, I do not, not at all. Eggnog is vile and thick and just downright awful. There, I said it, and I feel better. Now I am going to go and have a good holiday drink, a peppermint hot chocolate.

Ed note: Ty is wrong

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The Advent Calendar of Good, and Bad, Holiday Eats: Day 22 - Eggnog

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a treat associated with the holiday season. Many will be awesome, some will be terrible. Enjoy.

Opened doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen,                           Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One

Day 22: Eggnog

There are certain seasonal treats that certain people inexplicably look forward to. Minty flavors tinted with green food dye are sought after in the late winter weeks. A thousand different varieties of lemonade invade our taste buds during the summertime. Pumpkin spice everything appear once the sun sets on Labor day. When the Thanksgiving feast is complete, eggnog takes it's place on the throne of high holiday treatdom.

Eggnog has been around a long time. Texts dating back to the late 1600s talk of a nog drink. In the America's of the 1700's, history describes a dairy, egg, and spiced drink. The famous Modern Bartender's Guide from 1878  has multiple recipes for eggnog. It is a drink that has been around a while. Eggs, cream, sugar make this delicious elixir. Adding some nice brown liquor, bourbon, spiced rum, brandy, or cognac, make this holiday staple even more intoxicating. Eggnog has held the throne of holiday favorite for centuries, and it shows no sign of abdicating.

Eggnog, alcoholic or not, is awesome. Anyone that says otherwise is a holiday treat Grinch. Their humbuggery is not needed at your holiday table. Eggnog rules, and debate will not be tolerated. One does not challenge the throne without a hearty rebuke. Go drink some eggnog, and be merry and bright.

RD

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. Eggnog is great, the song The Christmas Shoes is terrible. Enjoy your nog as you listen to Patton Oswalt masterfully take apart that Christmas tune from hell.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.