When you ask some one if they like egg nog, you might as well be asking them if they like green eggs and ham. “I do not like it”, is the answer you will most often get. They do not like it with a log. They do not like it in the fog. They do not (DO NOT) like egg nog.
If you visit Jason Brauner at his Bourbons Bistro restaurant and bourbon bar you will change your mind. Not about green eggs and ham because that isn’t on the menu. Egg nog, however, is on the menu as seasonal offering. Jason is the evangelist that can convert any egg nog agnostic…including this one.
Recently, I was eating at Bourbons Bistro with The Wife and another couple. Jason came by the table and suggested the egg nog. We all politely smiled and nodded in an attempt to mask what we were thinking (which was turning up our noses and shaking our heads). Jason had likely seen this reaction a hundred times, but he knew something we didn’t. He knew what would happen once we tried it. So offering to bring a sample over to the table for each of us he confidently stated “It’s like crack. I’ll give you a taste and you’ll keep coming back for more”. He was right. With the first taste, the four of us described it as “delicious”, “amazing”, “awesome” and “holy crap!”.
When I visited with Jason and we talked about the infamous egg nog, two customers were at the bar near us. These ladies also claimed to not like egg nog. Jason worked his magic on them, too, pouring each a sample. One responded admiringly “that’s lovely” and the other simply said “yum, yum, yum”.
If I Give It To You, Will You Leave?
For many years, Jason and his father would take time around Christmas to visit elderly friends and neighbors. They would wish them Season’s Greetings and make sure they were doing well. One couple they visited would always serve them egg nog when they would stop by. Jason and his dad loved this concoction and found themselves staying longer there than they did anywhere else they would visit. As years rolled by others on their visitation list would get squeezed out so they could spend more time getting their annual egg nog fix.
Finally one Christmas Eve, Jason and his dad showed up anxious for a few sips of this divine holiday treat. The couple had other plans that evening that did not include another prolonged visit pouring glass after glass for the Brauners. So, the couple offered, “What if we just give you the recipe so you can make your own"?”. Deal.
What could possibly be the secret ingredient to make this egg nog so magical? Was it snow imported from the North Pole? Or the breath of a reindeer? Or perhaps a puff of smoke captured from the pipe of O’l St. Nick himself. No, it was none of these things. It was 190 proof pure grain alcohol. Cheers, y’all!
Stagg Nog to Knob Nog
Jason has been creating this very special egg nog and serving it at Bourbons Bistro for about ten years. The rather complex recipe is now a secret and it gets altered a bit every year. Of course, Jason has never used 190 proof grain alcohol in his formula. Back when it was plentiful and less expensive, Jason used George T. Stagg in the recipe. It was nicknamed “Stagg Nog”.
The bourbon used may change from season to season, but it is always of a higher proof variety. Some years Jason has used Booker’s. This year he used his store pick Knob Creek which weighs in at 120 proof. So, maybe this year it is “Knob Nog”? (or maybe not).
Egg Nog Season
Jason begins formulating each year’s egg nog around the first of November (it used to be around Thanksgiving, but growth in popularity has pushed that timing up a few weeks). So far this season Jason has personally hand crafted 4 or 5 batches which yields about 6 bottles per batch. The process takes about an hour and utilizes only high quality ingredients which is not cheap (have you seen the price of Madagascar vanilla beans lately?). Egg nog season ends at Bourbons Bistro on New Year’s Eve. There is still some time to get your egg nog on, but if you are one of the many who flatly proclaims to not like egg nog, don’t be a Grinch. If you try it you may find your heart grows three sizes that day.