Nuts for Nog

If the theory is true that the “nog” in “eggnog” hails from the word “noggin” – a small wooden mug used to serve drinks in taverns – the eggnog ritual at Scape is even more apropos. Every December, servers at the Central West End restaurant present all adult patrons with a petite espresso cup of house-made eggnog when delivering the check. “It’s a dessert amuse and it’s the best eggnog you will have in your life,” stated chef and co-owner Eric Kelly, who uses whole milk as opposed to fatty heavy cream for his original recipe. Kelly also noted that he’s made the drink using either light or dark rum. For the former, he prefers 10 Cane. For the latter, it’s Myer’s, no question. At Monarch, bartender Nate Selsor and executive chef Josh Galliano have collaborated to mix Galliano’s eggnog ice cream into a frosty cold-weather cocktail. A variation on a Brandy Alexander, the Bacon Eggnog Alexander is made from bacon-infused bourbon and white crème de cacao blended with a few scoops of Galliano’s spiked frozen treat – a vanilla ice cream and custard base flavored with rum, bourbon, nutmeg and ground Thai peppercorn – and topped with freshly grated cinnamon. “It’s smoky, creamy, spicy goodness with warm fall spices,” summed Selsor of this moderately boozy but balanced drink, available only on Tuesdays in December during happy hour at the Maplewood restaurant. We all know that a white Christmas completes the scene, but at Eclipse in The East Loop, snow signals the season for the vintage winter cocktail (and eggnog cousin), Tom and Jerry. “It’s always served after the first snowfall,” said bar manager Lucas Ramsey of the warm, frothy egg-based drink. “That’s tradition.” Tom and Jerry begins with a batter mix. Egg whites are beaten until stiff and the yolks are beaten until they are, as one recipe describes it, “thin as water.” “We’re separating the egg and beating it as opposed to doing it cold, [shaking it with ice], which is more of a flip,” explained Seth Wahlman, assistant bar manager at Eclipse. The whites and yolks are then folded together, along with rum, vanilla and baking spices like cinnamon, cloves and allspice, and thickened with sugar. “It’s almost like making pastry dough without flour,” noted Wahlman. A tablespoon or so of the batter gets combined with Cognac and an unconventional dash of chocolate bitters, poured in a mug, topped with hot milk and garnished with nutmeg. Ramsey and Wahlman are fixed enough on following tradition that they’ve been scouring antique malls for a Tom and Jerry punch bowl with the cocktail name etched on the side. No time to head to these restaurants for egg-cellent spins on holiday grog? A quart of store-bought dairy eggnog and 12 ounces of brandy, rum or whiskey combined in a punchbowl will make the Yuletide gay for a dozen of your family and friends.