Growing up in Vienna I never had eggnog; I got my first taste of this lovely concoction when I got to the States many years ago. We do have something slightly similar back in Austria to the 'nog', however; it's not a Christmassy thing, rather 'Easterly'. Having tons of egg in it I suppose gives it this Easter connection. It is a drink we sip in little liqueur glasses rather than those saucers used for eggnog.

I remember as a little girl in Vienna dipping my finger into the glasses leftover from the adults and cleaning out every little droplet of this yummy golden liquid. Today I make Eierlikoer quite often; the bottle's contents seem to practically evaporate. Even though we do sip it from small glasses, we manage quite a lot of refills. I keep it in the freezer to spoil my friends after dinner with loads of it straight up or poured over ice cream or cake. It's quite a hit.

Egg liqueur is quite easy to put together and makes a wonderful home made gift for the holidays. There are several versions, of course, as with any recipe. This is the original one I inherited from my Omi (my grandmother to you). I love the smoothness of rum as the alcoholic base, but I have tried it with Calvados, and aquavit and pear brandy, Kirschwasser (a Cherry based spirit), bourbon, cognac and many others. Each tastes uniquely different. Try them all, it's a great excuse to have lots of tasting parties. Your friends will love you for it except, perhaps the diet obsessed.

~ Click on the recipe ~