For as long as I can recall during my 54 years on this planet, holidays at our family farm have always included my mom serving eggnog during the holidays from small “milk glass” special cups with a colorful etching reading the words “eggnog.”
Her set dates back to the 1950s when the vintage glassware was produced by Hazel-Atlas Company, founded in 1902 in Washington, Pennsylvania. Originally, this company specialized in making the small, flat “milk glass” containers for products such as lotions, “cold cream,” salves and ointments.
Toasting our holiday cheers and greetings with these cups always rates a smile. The lyrics for the song “Jingle Bells” are featured on the backside of each cup.
Decades later in the 1990s, our good family friend Irene Jakubowski of Valparaiso gifted us with her similar themed Hazel-Atlas Company “milk glass” holiday set of cups and a matching small punch bowl. Her set features the etching of the words “Tom & Jerry,” the latter being another popular eggnog-based drink that is served warm (as opposed to room temp or chilled) and was dreamed up by British writer and journalist Pierce Egan around 1820.
My recent fascination for the history of eggnog was inspired by my Christmas morning reading from the 2024 “Little Blue Book” of Advent devotions and reflections provided by our priest. These handy palm-size booklets also include “black cover” editions in the spring for Lenten devotions, and both are printed and published by the Diocese of Saginaw, as based on the writings and research of the late Bishop Ken Untener who died in 2004. Today, his writings and publications are continued by editor Erin Looby Carlson with illustrations by MaryBeth O’Connor and graphic designs by Cathy Gerkin, with editorial support by Jenny Cromie.
Page 18 in this season’s booklet carries the heading “An Egg-cellent idea” and features this fun and informative passage:
“If you’ve been to the grocery store recently or have attended a holiday gathering, you’ve probably noticed the eggnog has arrived for the season. But where did this holiday staple (originally made with raw eggs) originate? It is believed to have come from a medieval British drink called ‘posset,’ which called for hot milk and spices and was curdled with ale or wine. It was used to toast to health, happiness, and wealth. Centuries later, the drink continued to evolve, and monks are credited with adding their own twist — the whipped eggs we have today. By the 17th century, the drink had become associated with Christmas in England. It also was known as ‘egg flip’ and often served with a portion of wine. In America, rum (grog) was substituted for wine. President George Washington and wife Martha often added whiskey and sherry to the rum mixture and is said to have served it to guests at their estate Mount Vernon. A best-selling brand of ‘rompope’ (the Latin American term for eggnog) was first made in the Convent of Santa Clara in Puebla, Mexico, and features a picture of the nuns on the bottle.”
It’s not only our founding father President Washington and wife Martha who sipped eggnog throughout the year and not just at Christmastime.
Eggnog is a rich and indulgent drink that has been traditionally enjoyed by upper-class society dating back to the days of British aristocracy of the late 1700s and throughout the 1800s. Because nobility and aristocrats often owned country estates with unlimited access to coveted products like eggs, cream and milk, eggnog ingredients were easily available any day of the year.
The same tastes and traditions of wealthy society families continued in the Thirteen Colonies and, later, along the East Coast in Newport, the Hamptons and other landscapes of the privileged and “old money set.”
Playwright and Yale graduate A.R. Gurney, who was born in an upper-class and very socially connected family, includes an eggnog reference in his 1988 play “Love Letters” when lead character Andrew Makepeace Ladd III writes to his college co-ed date Melissa Gardner sharing details and plans for her weekend visit to his college campus.
“Here’s the schedule, starting with lunch at Calhoun around noon,” Andrew writes.
“Then drive out to the game. Then there’s a Sea-Breeze Cocktail party at the Fence Club afterwards, and an Eggnog brunch at Saint Anthony’s the next day. I’ll reserve a room for you at the Taft or the Duncan, probably the Taft, since the Duncan is a pretty seedy joint.”
Melissa’s written reply reads: “Then make it the Duncan. I hear the Taft is loaded with parents, all milling around the lobby, keeping tabs on who goes up in the elevators. Can’t WAIT till the 16th.”
As for George and Martha, they definitely loved to entertain with assorted spirits and libations, not only at their own home Mount Vernon, but also while president and first lady before the White House we know today, when the president and first lady still lived for the first three months on Pearl Street in New York City in 1789. White House records indicate the first couple spent $321.25 on alcohol in their first few months in office, the equivalent of more than $3,585 in today’s dollars.
George was fond of ordering his Jamaican rum by “the hogshead cask,” which was close to 80 gallons. He also favored Madeira wine, ordered to be stocked up with 27 gallons at all times, and 252 gallons of the wine ordered at Christmastime for $1.60 a gallon. To be fair, written records reveal George requested the large wine order for serving his entire Army Commission for the holiday. Historian Stephen Decatur Jr., a leading expert on the Washington household, discovered the servants of the Washington household were allowed “unrestricted access to as much cider from the cellars as desired,” as batches were “milled for $5 a barrel by the Huguenot patriot Elias Boudinot from his Bergen County New Jersey farm.”
Martha’s holiday menu favorites included chowders, cured ham, roast chicken, yams, goose, bread pudding, cherry and pumpkin pies and roast beef. The specialty items Martha favored included chestnuts, capers, anchovies, crab meat, almonds, assorted Cheshire cheeses, sugar tarts and rum fruit punch or imported Canary Island wine.
Even though Martha Washington burned much of her personal correspondence with George after his death on Dec. 14, 1799, a recipe for the family eggnog dated around the time of the president’s death remained with other menus and records.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@powershealth.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.
George and Martha Washington Eggnog
Makes 2 gallons
1 quart milk
1 quart cream
1 dozen eggs
1 dozen tablespoons of sugar
1 pint cognac
1 pint rye or Irish whiskey
3/4 pint Jamaica rum
1/4 pint sherry
Directions:
Separate yolks and whites of eggs.
Add sugar to beaten yolks and mix well.
Add liquor mixture drop by drop at first, slowly beating, then add milk.
Beat cream until stiff and fold into mixture.
Beat egg whites until stiff and fold slowly into mixture, tasting frequently.
