Eggnog is a traditional part of many holiday gatherings, but have you ever tasted those sugary versions sold by the carton in supermarkets? They don't hold a candle to homemade. And no homemade eggnogs hold a candle to The Colonel's Eggnog, a recipe handed down through the Marvil family and now in the hands of Chattanoogan Josh Marvil and his siblings.
No one knows the colonel whose name is attached to the recipe. Marvil's mother, Mary Marjorie Mullins Marvil, was an Army nurse stationed in Paris in World War II. It was there she met her future husband, Fred Marvil, later to become a colonel himself.
"But it wasn't his recipe," Josh Marvil says.
I suggested it was perhaps a colonel she met in Paris who shared the recipe with her.
Anne Braly"I don't know. She never said. That remains a mystery," he says.
What is no mystery, though, is the love everyone who's tried it has for it.
"I make it around Thanksgiving, and it's gone before Christmas," Marvil says. "One batch of it makes quite a lot. It's got a lot of liquor in it, and then you add a dozen eggs and a lot of cream, and it gets all fluffed up with all that stuff folded in."
While culinary historians debate its exact lineage, most agree eggnog's roots are planted in medieval Britain, where posset, a hot, milky, ale-like drink was readily consumed. By the 13th century, monks were known to drink a posset with eggs and figs. Milk, eggs and sherry were foods of the wealthy, so eggnog was often used in toasts to prosperity and good health, making it an ideal drink for holiday toasts of good wishes.
By the 1700s, Americans were serving their own concoctions, adding cheap rum, and today's eggnog was born.
Marvil states, though, that cheap liquor is not used in his recipe. "A better-quality whiskey makes a better eggnog," he says.
Eggnog makes a wonderful gift for holiday giving, too.
"People call and ask us to bring some over," Marvil says. "I tell them no. You come get it and stay for a visit."
Sip it carefully, though. With a quart of whiskey, a quart of light rum, a pint of dark rum and a half pint of brandy, it's wickedly delicious. Make it now, let it blend for a couple of weeks in pitchers in the refrigerator, then share with friends and family.
The Colonel's Eggnog a.k.a The Marvil Family Recipe
1 dozen eggs, separated
1 pound powdered sugar
1 quart good-quality blended whiskey (such as Four Roses)
1 quart light rum
1/2 pint dark rum
1 pint brandy
1 quart whole milk
1 quart heavy whipping cream
Whip egg yolks until lemon-colored in a large mixing bowl. Gradually whip in powdered sugar. Slowly whip in all the liquors and milk. Beat egg whites till stiff, then blend in. Whip cream, and fold into mixture.
Store in refrigerator in covered containers for at least two weeks. Shake well, and serve with a dash of nutmeg or cinnamon. The longer it sets, the better the taste.
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.