How to replace booze in eggnog?

Question

I have been relegated to bringing "drinks" for a work holiday potluck. Fair enough. I love eggnog and would like to bring some. However, my recipe includes two jiggers of bourbon or brandy. It might be tempting to carry on as-is and feign ignorance, but my conscience says otherwise.

So I resolve to making a virgin eggnog. While it's tempting to merely leave the booze out, the booze adds a lot of flavor and sweetness. Is there an accepted way to substitute a brown spirit without losing all the goodness it imparts (apart from the ethanol)?

@Paparazzi Interesting — [I've asked](https://alcohol.meta.stackexchange.com/q/222/7420) if that's possible or not. However, I don't think it's off-topic here, since it's about adding a particular flavor. — Erica, Dec 12 '17 at 17:27
Googling "alcohol free eggnog recipe" seems to yield a lot of results... — MonkeyZeus, Dec 12 '17 at 18:23
It’s *kind of* implied in the question … but: why does it have to be non-alcoholic eggnog? Is “‘drinks’” supposed to mean non-alcoholic drinks? — Konrad Rudolph, Dec 13 '17 at 14:06
@KonradRudolph a potluck is an event where everyone brings something to eat/drink, these events can often be during lunch break or right after work, so not really time for alcoholic beverages yet. Next to that a lot of offices don't allow alcohol on the premises (some because of policies, others because of legal reasons.) — Summer, Dec 13 '17 at 15:47
@JaneDoe1337 I know what a potluck is. But ours are always alcoholic. Regional differences I guess. — Konrad Rudolph, Dec 13 '17 at 15:51
@konradrudolph I would normally be all in favor for a lax attitude toward alcohol in the work place. Regrettably it's grounds for immediate termination! — AdamO, Dec 13 '17 at 19:23

Erica · Accepted Answer · 2017-12-12T23:55:46.760

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The easiest way is rum or brandy extract. The flavor is milder, but satisfactory enough. (Rum extract is far easier to find than brandy extract.)

Most brands still have some alcohol (significantly less than the real deal, but still present), so it's important to consider whether you're just avoiding the intoxicating effects or trying to completely eliminate the alcohol (e.g. for medical or religious reasons). If work rules mean it needs to be completely alcohol-free, you'll need to get more creative.

A side note inspired by a comment asking if eliminating alcohol increases Salmonella risk: Alcohol isn't guaranteed to kill harmful bacteria, so nog should either use pasteurized eggs or be (lightly) cooked for food safety... regardless of how much booze is or is not in your recipe.

edited Dec 12 '17 at 23:55

answered Dec 12 '17 at 16:10

Erica

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I was going to say just drink the jiggers rather than dump them in. Might not test as good for everyone else but it will for you. I supposed though, that going with an extract is the more responsible and adult thing to do. Far less fun though. – dlb Dec 12 '17 at 16:27
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OK, fair, drinking the booze yourself is definitely easier than finding an extract for flavoring ;) – Erica Dec 12 '17 at 16:28
Will removing the alcohol make salmonella more likely? – Hannover Fist Dec 12 '17 at 23:47
Alcohol isn't actually guaranteed to kill harmful bacteria, so nog should either use pasteurized eggs or [be (lightly) cooked](https://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/85779/17272) for food safety. I'll expand the answer to include this side note, it's a useful point. – Erica Dec 12 '17 at 23:53
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Alcohol is actually CREATED by microorganisms, so expecting small amounts of it to kill germs is unrealistic. To work as a disinfectant the alcohol must be a very high concentration. It is really most effective as a surface disinfectant at concentrations of 70-90%. . – barbecue Dec 13 '17 at 00:12
also, the amount of alcohol in an extract is going to be trivial, unless you're using huge quantities of extract. – barbecue Dec 13 '17 at 00:13
@Erica Exactly this. If one is concerned about salmonella risk, purchase an immersion sous vide cooker or a sous vide "water overn", and just home-pastuerize the eggs at 134F for 2 hours, or buy pre-pasteurized eggs. Numerous chefs I've known do that to make homemade traditional caesar dressing, ice cream, mayo, etc; and several MMA/powerlifter types use it to pre-pasteurize eggs so you can drink 12-18 every morning (vary up the nutrient profile compared to just having whey powder shakes every morning). – Cloud Dec 13 '17 at 22:42

score 12 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 12 '17 at 19:17

I'm no eggnog expert, but when I need to substitute bourbon in a recipe that calls for both bourbon and sugar, I have substituted bourbon for a mixture of maple syrup and molasses. This will be a little bit thicker than using the rum or brandy extract, but you use much less of it. It gives that nice bitter & sweet depth of flavor similar to a bourbon, but it definitely won't taste the exact same. You may need to cut back on the sugar a little as well.

It's up to you whether you'd rather use extract or substitute with something completely different. It's sort of like the difference between veggie burgers made of tofu that try to taste like meat or veggie burgers that are just a black-bean & veggie patty. It's a matter of preference.

Do you mean to say that you substituted the bourbon BY the other sweeteners? Because what you said is that you replace maple syrup and molasses by adding bourbon. — Beanluc, Dec 14 '17 at 01:02

score 8 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 13 '17 at 01:41

Alcohol-free vanilla extract (available in the US from Trader Joe's) is a decent substitute for the flavor you need for eggnog.

To echo other answers, you could also simply make the eggnog without the spirits. I've been using Alton Brown's eggnog recipe for years, to great satisfaction, and I just leave out the 3 ounces of bourbon.

score 4 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 12 '17 at 20:56

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I'm no expert either, but my mother simply never added it. She used a 50/50 milk/eggnog ratio. And to this day, I like it better than adding alcohol.

answered Dec 12 '17 at 20:56

Jeff

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I'm pretty sure the milk/eggnog mix is pretty darn common. I'm surprised no one else mentioned this. +1 – BlackThorn Dec 12 '17 at 21:04
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You lost me: you're talking as if eggnog were some sort of standard ingredient, like milk or eggs. Are you talking about the seasonally-available cartons of eggnog from the supermarket? I love that stuff, but (1) diluting it 50/50 with milk will result in a vaguely eggnog-flavored beverage that wouldn't be satisfactory as either milk or as eggnog, and more importantly (2) I'm reasonably certain that someone who is talking about *making* egg nog is doing so from scratch and would be horrified to be offered the store-bought stuff. – Marti Dec 12 '17 at 23:55
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Assuming he is indeed talking about the seasonally available cartons, I'm with Jeff. I've been doing this for quite a few years to spread it out further... and because I find the richness/thickness of the supermarket variety to be much higher than the eggnog recipe we used when I was younger. Certainly opinions will vary, but I dispute the "wouldn't be as satisfactory as either" phrase. But I also do harmonize with the idea that store-bought stuff isn't nearly as good as doing it from scratch. – JeopardyTempest Dec 13 '17 at 06:05
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eggnog = milk + eggnog is an infinite loop... – Peter Cordes Dec 13 '17 at 08:11
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Regarding the store-bought eggnog; quality thereof. The good quality brands (while very expensive) are **very good indeed**. This is unsurprising. 99.99% of ***eggs*** sold in the USA in supermarket are utter filth on many levels; I would die rather than put them inside my body. So there's no point de-facto asserting that "store bought" eggnog is rubbish. one might as well assert that the hand-made eggnog will be rubbish, because it's made with the comic cream, eggs, etc available in supermarkets (sadly). – Fattie Dec 13 '17 at 13:59
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Regarding store-bought eggnog; adding milk. You're **supposed** to add milk, it's deliberately sold over-thick (like, i guess, some washing up liquids), and you add some milk to taste. In our household it's 50/50. – Fattie Dec 13 '17 at 14:00
Regarding store-bought eggnog; alcohol therein. Some of the better brands of store-bought eggnog indeed have an alcohol content. – Fattie Dec 13 '17 at 14:00
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@PeterCordes actually, I think that'd be infinite *recursion*, leading of course to Stack Overflow – A C Dec 14 '17 at 00:13
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@AC: I did consider writing "recursion", but any good compiler (or human following a procedure) will turn simple recursion into a loop (gcc output for [`int nog(void) { return milk + nog(); }`](https://godbolt.org/g/AbFRJy) is just an empty infinite loop :P. OTOH, I think you're right: if you want a finite quantity of eggnog you start by thinking through the steps, and get stuck in infinite recursion until your mind Stack Overflows. (Then you just make extremely dilute eggnog and give it to a homeopath for Christmas.) – Peter Cordes Dec 14 '17 at 03:11

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 13 '17 at 07:05

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7-up or Gingerale gives eggnog kind of a nice flavor and great mouth feel, I prefer to add Gingerale regardless of whether I add liquor or not. Happy Holidays!

answered Dec 13 '17 at 07:05

Mr.x

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The question was not "what could be added to eggnogg", but very straightforward about how to adjust recipes that list alcohol in a no-alcohol environement. – Stephie Dec 13 '17 at 08:59
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Looks to me like the question is; "How to replace booze in eggnog?" and for the past 50+ years that I am aware of, 7-up and eggnog is a good simple alternative for people who prefer nonalcoholic beverages. Gingerale is my personal preference. – Mr.x Dec 14 '17 at 06:17
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I guess another option, for those who want the eggnog to taste like it contains rum or bourbon; Alcohol boils at 80f, so you could bring a pint of whisky or rum to 90-100f in a sauce pan for about 20 mins and then use the resulting non alcoholic booze. But IME most people drink eggnog and booze to kill the booze flavor, and Ive not met anyone who did not enjoy a little bubbly eggnog and 7-up lightly sprinkled with nutmeg. Be sure and gently add the eggnog to the soda, then gently stir to create a thick froth. – Mr.x Dec 14 '17 at 06:39

How to replace booze in eggnog?

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