The best eggnog should be buttery, sweet, and well spiced. Eggnog is best when it’s thick and fatty, but also flavored with aromatics. Nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and allspice are all welcome in this eggnog tasting. Eggnog is a special holiday treat; we don’t drink it often, so we want it to blow us away. Here’s what we think you ought to buy this December.
Awwww sheet, it’s eggnog season! I’m a longtime fan of the stuff, but I’m not really sure why. I don’t go about my day-to-day life enjoying glasses of milk like some kind of predator, I prefer my eggs cooked, and I sure as hell wouldn’t drink a glass of bourbon and half and half. But for some reason, when the calendar flips to December, I do all of those things. Why? I’m a simp for Christmas, I guess. Eggnog is great because it’s so damn rich and luxurious. It’s creamy, sure, but not in that thin, watery way that milk is. Eggnog has buttery, thick, fatty richness going for it, and that’s reflected in the nutritional facts (don’t read those on a carton of eggnog, btw). But, hey, all the best foods certainly shorten our lifespans. And in addition to being dangerously decadent, eggnog is also warmly spiced and comforting. Eggnog, like you and me, contains multitudes.
For this taste test, we tasted non-alcoholic nogs. We looked for eggnog that had a deliciously rich flavor, good spice, and appropriate thickness. Good eggnog should feel like a special treat. So what’s the best eggnog for Christmas this year? Let’s get into it.
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- Southern Comfort Traditional Egg Nog
Southern Comfort eggnog is rich, creamy, and has just the right amount of sweetness. A lot of eggnogs can be far too sugary, but Southern Comfort gets everything just right. It’s made with milk, cream, egg yolks, and also high fructose corn syrup. I don’t love that there’s high fructose corn syrup in it (like, why?), but the taste is absolutely undeniable. Managing editor Gwynedd Stuart and I were freaks for this one. For me, the best part about it is you really taste the egg yolks. It’s just deliciously rich because of that bold, eggy flavor. Sweet, subtle, and luxurious, Southern Comfort is the best eggnog we tried.
Credit: Liv Averett/Instacart
- Alexandre Homegrown Eggnog
Alexandre Homegrown Eggnog has my favorite flavor of all the eggnogs. While a lot of products just sort of mysteriously list “spices” in the ingredients, Alexandre lists cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove, and turmeric. That’s a lot of warm, spiced flavor, and no other eggnog comes close to matching Alexandre’s wonderful blend of aromatics. Alexandre is also made with cane sugar, egg yolks, organic milk, and organic cream. There’s a lot going for it, and, not for nothin’, it’s got 45 percent saturated fat per serving. That equals big time rich flavor. Alexandre is the best eggnog for those who like to feel a little fancy and decadent.
Credit: Liv Averett/Instacart
- Broguiere’s
This made me say “good lord” to absolutely no one but myself. Broguiere’s is curiously rich, but I think the secret ingredient here is egg yolk powder. That powder offers a lot of rich, fatty, condensed flavor, so the egg taste in this nog is really off the charts. Broguiere’s puts their eggnog in a faux milk bottle complete with a smiling cow on the label, but that’s misleading. Broguiere’s uses corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup in their ingredients. Combine that with egg yolk powder, and the aesthetic here doesn’t exactly scream homemade. It could also benefit from some aromatics like Alexandre. Still, the flavor is very, very good. Sweet, creamy, and lavish, Broguiere’s is the best eggnog for those who like a full egg-yolk flavor.
Credit: Liv Averett/Amazon
- Sprouts Organic Eggnog
Now this is eggy. (How eggy is it?). It’s so eggy, that it droops and gloops out of the damn container like fancy Christmas sludge. You might hate that, but because of the thickness here, I think this is best to mix with alcohol. The problem with mixing things like bourbon and rum with store bought eggnog is that the nog becomes too thin and thus loses its iconically thick texture. That won’t be a problem with Sprouts, which is almost made for booze. And the flavor of Sprouts’ eggnog is on point too. The use of nutmeg provides some warm, nutty flavor notes. This is another egg yolk powder nog, so it’s rich, buttery, and delicious. Buy it, then stir in some alcohol with confidence.
Credit: Liv Averett/Instacart
- Almond Breeze Almond Nog
Almond Breeze Almond Nog gets a passing grade here, and it actually edges out a lot of the full-fat eggnogs I tried. The almond flavor actually provides some really excellent flavor. It’s made with cane sugar, rice starch, and almond milk, and it really maintains that fatty, spiced nog flavor that we were looking for. Gwynedd was a big fan of it, citing it as “refreshing.” I concur. Of the vegan eggnogs I tried, this was the best.
Credit: Liv Averett/Instacart
Best of the Best
Best Spiced
Best Creamy
Best for Mixing Booze
Best Vegan
Other products we tried: Southern Comfort Vanilla Spice, Alta Dena, Chobani Oat Nog, Simple Truth, Califia Farms, R.W. Knudsen, Lucerne, Hood, Silk.
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