Oh, egg nog. I can’t quit you.

I’ve made no secret about my obsession with the homemade nog. In fact, I talk about it quite a bit in my book (and there’s a few great recipes in there, as well.) And this year, I felt like putting some pistachios in it. Why not. Honestly? I think this might be my favorite version so far (no offense to the recipes in my book).

When the good folks at the Kōloa Rum Co. sent me a lovely little rum gift basket (including a gorgeous blown glass chicken wine bottle stopper CUZ THEY KNEW WHO THEY WERE SENDING THIS TO), I immediately decided I was going to use their gorgeous Kaua’i Reserve rum in this recipe. I looooooove aged rum in my eggnog—but any unflavored rum will work for just fine for this. Kōloa’s Kaua’i Spiced Rum would probably be pretty great in this, as well.

One of the great things about boozy eggnog is that you can make it in big batches ahead of time. The longer it sits in the fridge aging, the richer it gets (note, you can only age eggnog that has booze in it, and regardless, always be extremely cautious when consuming raw egg products—when in doubt, use pasteurized eggs).

The pistachio milk lends a very subtle flavor to this drink. Adding pistachio liqueur, such as Dumante, is a great way to kick up the pistachio factor but , dang, it is NOT easy to come by pistachio liqueur and I’m kind of cranky about it. If you want to be super DIY, make your own, like this. Or cheat a bit by combining vodka and this pistachio syrup at a 2:1 ratio of vodka to syrup and let it marinate for a few days before using. OR JUST SKIP THE LIQUEUR PART AND ADD MORE RUM.

BOOZY PISTACHIO EGGNOG

Makes approximately 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 6 medium fresh eggs

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 2 cups fresh Pistachio Milk (see instructions below)

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1.5 cups aged rum

• 6 oz. pistachio liqueur, or if you cannot get your hands on some, try maraschino liqueur (or replace with 6 more oz. rum)

• Garnish: 1/2 tablespoon pistachio dust (instructions below)

  • Start by making pistachio milk.

    • Place 1.5 cups of shelled, raw pistachio nuts in an airtight container and cover with water. Soak overnight. Strain and rinse.

    • Place soaked nuts in a blender and add 4 cups of fresh water. Blend until super smooth.

    • Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth, collecting liquid into an airtight container and discarding solids (feed the pistachio mush to your chickens!).

    • Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

  • Pulverize a half cup of raw, shelled pistachios in a food processor to make your garnish pistachio dust.

  • To make the nog:

    • Separate your eggs into two bowls: whites in one, yolks in the other. Cover the bowl of whites and stick it in the fridge until you’re about ready to serve the nog.

    • Add sugar to the yolks and whisk until smooth.

    • Whisk in pistachio milk, cream, rum, and liqueur.

    • Cover and refrigerate mixture for several hours (or longer if you like your nog aged—but the egg whites will have to be discarded if you wait too long).

    • When you are ready to serve, pull the egg white bowl from the fridge and whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold this mixture into the nog mixture, then serve into individual glasses. Dust each drink with a bit of pistachio dust.

Cheers to Nog Season, and to tiny lurking background chickens.

And also to lurking background boxers….