SAN FRANCISCO — At Scoma’s Restaurant in San Francisco, this holiday season ‘s batch of eggnog began 11 months ago.
The process usually kicks off towards the end of January, right after the festivities from the previous year have concluded. Almost a thousand egg yolks, numerous gallons of heavy cream, and about $1,000 worth of vanilla beans are combined with sugar and a potent mix of sherry, brandy, and aged rum. This blend is then kept at a temperature of 34 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) and is stirred weekly for several months.
Is it worth the wait? Customer Phil Kenny seems to think so.
“It’s an amazing, special drink,” Kenny remarked about Scoma’s recipe, which has been refined over the years to capitalize on the aging process of the boozy mixture. “This elevates eggnog to a whole new level.”
Kenny and his wife, Laurie, aren’t the only ones enjoying it this year.
“A beverage that was traditionally associated with grandparents during the holidays has now evolved into a cult favorite here,” revealed Gordon Drysdale, the culinary director at Scoma’s, earlier this month. “We never expected people to actually get upset with us for not having it available.”
Eggnog’s roots date back to medieval England and a drink called “posset,” which included hot milk or cream, alcohol and spices. Recipes have evolved in the centuries since then, and non-dairy and alcohol-free options abound in recent years. But some – like the formula for the famous eggnog daiquiri at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop in New Orleans – stay the same, and remain secret.
“I like to say it’s a little Christmas magic,” said Jamie Gourges, marketing manager for the open-air bar in the city’s iconic French Quarter. “We do not disclose any of our recipes at any point but it is delicious.”
Gourges will say, though, that theirs is made fresh each morning from right after Thanksgiving until Three Kings Day, also known as Epiphany, on Jan. 6. It’s a tradition going back some 20 years at an establishment that was built in the early 1700s. Naturally, it’s haunted by French pirate and privateer Jean Lafitte, who based his smuggling operations near New Orleans.
Terry Wittmer, who lives in the Big Easy, is a regular customer and loves the holiday season at the bar.
“It tastes like Christmas. It’s a little cinnamon-y. It’s smooth and if you drink it too fast you might get a brain freeze,” Wittmer said. “I live a block away so I’m here every day but I’m happier during Christmas.”
Even for tourists who came for the bar’s signature “purple drank” daiquiri, the holiday beverage beckons.
“It’s not going to have a problem going down, let’s put it that way,” Cheryl Abrigo of Florida said as she sipped hers.
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