This cocktail has a luscious eggnog base with a whipped brown sugar bourbon meringue topping. It’s an eggnog cocktail you’ll want to make over and over again this holiday season.

Eggnog with whipped topping, garnished with a cinnamon stick.

A classic eggnog contains egg yolks, cream, nutmeg and the alcohol is usually a whisky or a rum. Eggnog can be served with and without alcohol. When spiked, it usually contains either rum or bourbon. This recipe contains both rum and bourbon, with rum in the base of the eggnog and bourbon in the whipped topping.

Traditional eggnog uses eggs, sugar, milk, cream, and nutmeg. This eggnog recipe uses eggs, sugar, brown sugar, milk, cream, nutmeg, rum, bourbon, and water.

🌟Why you’ll love this recipe

  • There’s a reason they say sugar and spice and all things nice: combining sweet brown sugar with a spice like nutmeg makes a delicious balanced flavor.
  • In this recipe, the egg yolks are brought to temperature in a saucepan making them safe to eat. The egg whites are whipped with a hot simple syrup, making them safe, as well.
  • Because rum and whisky have notes of brown sugar and molasses, the flavor blends fantastically with a whipped sugar topping like a brown sugar meringue.
  • It wasn’t until my adult years when I had eggnog created by a mixologist friend that I was hooked. He wouldn’t share his family recipe, so I set off to create my own version. After tons of eggnog, this wonderful creation was born, along with an eggnog gelato that is heavenly.

🧾Ingredients in this recipe

Ingredients for eggnog with brown sugar bourbon meringue.
  • egg whites – this recipe beats hot brown sugar simple syrup into the egg whites bringing them to a proper temperature that is safe to eat.
  • rum & bourbon – use alcohol brands that you enjoy drinking for this recipe.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

👩‍🍳How to Make This Recipe

To make the eggnog base you will need 5 egg yolks, sugar, milk (or coconut milk from a can), heavy cream, nutmeg, and rum. You can also use bourbon if that is your preference.

Yellow frothy liquid in a clear glass bowl next to a whisk.
  • Whisk the yolks and sugar together until pale yellow.
Foamy liquid in a purple enameled pot with a white rubber spatula with a wooden handle.
  • Warm the milk, cream, and nutmeg until it just lightly simmers. Temper the egg/sugar mixture with the milk/cream mixture. Return to the saucepan and cook until thickened, stirring slowly and constantly. It should get to 170F. Remove from heat. Stir in the rum or bourbon. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Take it to another level

You can turn this base into eggnog gelato very easily by adding it to your ice cream maker after it has chilled in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours.

To make the brown sugar bourbon meringue you will need the following ingredients: 5 egg whites, brown sugar, water, and bourbon.

Whipped meringue in a stand mixer bowl next to dark brown simple syrup and a brown glass.
  • Bring the brown sugar and water to boil then simmer for 3 minutes. Separately, beat the egg whites to soft peaks.
Whipped light brown meringue in a metal bowl.
  • With mixer running, slowly pour in the syrup until shiny and stiff peaks form. Then, beat in the bourbon.

Tools to whip

The meringue whips better when using a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer. The stand mixer doesn’t always combine the syrup properly and it is more likely to separate.

Whipped topping on a glass of eggnog garnished with a cinnamon stick.
Garnish with a cinnamon stick for easy stirring.

I do love a fun beverage (with and without alcohol), so be sure to check out all the beverages on the blog.

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Author: Candice Walker

Eggnog with Brown Butter Bourbon Meringue

5 from 4 votes
Print Recipe Save
This Dalgona-inspired spiked eggnog has a luscious eggnog base with whipped brown sugar bourbon meringue topping. Holiday heaven in a glass.
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Resting Time4 hours
Total Time5 hours
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Diet: Kosher, Vegetarian
Servings: 8
Calories: 309kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

Eggnog Base

  • 5 yolks
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cups cream
  • 3/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 4 tbsp rum or bourbon

Brown Sugar Bourbon Meringue

  • 5 whites
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp bourbon

Instructions

Eggnog Base

  • Whisk the yolks and sugar together until pale yellow.
  • Warm the milk, cream, and nutmeg until it just lightly simmers.
  • Temper the egg/sugar mixture with the milk/cream mixture.
  • Return to the saucepan and cook until thickened, stirring slowly and constantly. It should get to 170F.
  • Remove from heat. Stir in the rum/bourbon. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Brown Sugar Bourbon Meringue

  • Bring sugar and water to boil then simmer for 3 minutes.
  • Beat whites to soft peaks. With mixer running, slowly pour in the syrup until shiny and stiff peaks form.
  • Beat in the bourbon.

Notes

The meringue works better when using a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer. The stand mixer doesn’t always combine the syrup properly and it is more likely to separate.
You can also turn this base into eggnog gelato very easily by adding it to your ice cream maker after it has chilled in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours.
The base can be made 1 day in advance. But the meringue is best made the same day. You can make the brown sugar simple syrup in advance and keep it in the refrigerator in a sealed container.

Nutrition

Calories: 309kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 169mg | Sodium: 78mg | Potassium: 164mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 698IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you try this recipe?I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a Review to let us know how it came out, if you have a successful substitution or variation, or anything else.

2 Comments

5 from 4 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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