Eggnog is a rich, chilled, sweetened, dairy-based alcoholic beverage. Traditionally it’s made with whisked egg yolks, sugar, cream and brandy, rum or bourbon. The egg whites are whisked until foamy and added just before serving.
It’s often drunk at celebrations, especially Christmas. It’s commercially available premixed but it’s also easy to make at home.
See also Advocaat and Zabov All’uovo which are traditional Dutch and Italian eggnogs respectively.
Advocaat is a Dutch eggnog, made from egg yolks, sugar and brandy. It’s a rich and creamy drink with a custard-like flavour. The drink has a low alcohol content, typically between 14% and 20% ABV.
In Dutch its name is short for advocaatenborrel, the ‘lawyer’s drink’, from advocaat, ‘advocate, lawyer’, and borrel, ‘drink’.
Advocaat was the main ingredient in the cocktail “Snowball” which was popular in the 1960s. Nowadays eggnog is more typically served at celebrations, eg Christmas.
See also the Italian version which is called Zabov Ull-uovo.
Zabov all’uovo is a traditional Italian eggnog made with milk, fresh egg yolks, sugar, and a little alcohol (it’s only 15% ABV). It has a brandy flavour. It’s a sweet, energising liqueur, taken warm as a tonic, or any time for a celebration. It is also sometimes used as a complement for gourmet desserts.
In 1946 a young merchant from Ferrara, driven by a passion for novelty, courageously decided to abandon the tranquillity of his family’s own business to undertake an entrepreneurial project and set up Distillerie A.R.P.A. di Mauro Moccia sas, a company “to produce and sell liqueurs, syrups and related products”.
From March 2011 this ferrarese liquor was added to the official list of traditional products of the Emilia-Romagna region.
Source: Ferrara: Terra e Acqua: Zabov – Zabaglione Egg Liquor
It’s the Italian version of the better-known Dutch advocaat.