Why do we call it eggnog anyway?

Winter often brought reprieve in the wars of the past, but not in the Eggnog War. Unlike the fashionable moral ambiguities peddled by our gender-ambiguous storytellers, this war permits no compromise. Here we find no fashionable shades of gray—we’re not flipping houses. The Eggnog Question divides as clearly as foundations—rock against sand. Eggnog-haters are going back! 

The history proves as substantial as the drink itself. In eggnog we find something quintessentially American, a Christmas tradition that speaks most clearly in a Southern accent. What started in Albion’s taverns grew to something else. Something ours. 

The Consensus 

Posset is an old drink from an old world. Hot ale or wine and eggs and spices thrown together in medieval halls when common folk could only talk about its smell. By the 13th century, milk and sugar joined the mix, cementing its status as a drink for the lords and ladies. 

The drink crossed the Atlantic with British settlers in the 1700s, and the new world changed it. Caribbean rum, cheap and easy to find, replaced the brandy and sherry of the old country. With an abundance of milk and eggs, it became a drink enjoyed by Yankees, Yeomen, Cavaliers, Crackers, and Fur Trappers. The name “eggnog” emerged during this period, though its origin remains disputed. Some claim it came from sailors combining “egg” with their “grog.” Another group says it refers to the word “noggin” borrowed from Scottish drinkers who knew their small cups well. Others point to Norfolk’s strong ale called “nog.” 

The word “eggnog” first appeared in American records toward the end of the 18th century, finding its most thorough early description in William Attmore’s 1787 “Journal of a Tour to North Carolina.” He noted, with particular interest, that the taking of “drams” before breakfast was not merely accepted but customary in North Carolina. His Christmas Day account preserves the precise preparation: five eggs separated, yolks mixed with brown sugar, whites beaten until astonishingly firm, these elements combined, and rum carefully stirred into the mixture. 

Prior to Attmore’s notes, Jonathan Boucher, a Maryland clergyman and friend to George Washington, referenced “eggnog” in a poem composed around 1775, yet published later. By 1788, the term began appearing in documents throughout the colonies, establishing its place in early American vernacular. 

PSA The supposedly historic Washington Eggnog recipe, multiplied across print and pixels like biblical loaves and fishes, proves to be entirely apocryphal.

✹ ROCKY FLOP

After watching the Tennessee Vols suffer the second biggest blowout of the four College Football Playoff games on Saturday, it became clear to me why I’m not a fan of Josh Heupel. The man doesn’t have a spiritual bone in his body, which is a cardinal sin when coaching football at any level in the South. He might be a wiz when it comes to the Xs and Os, but he ain’t no Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday, that’s for dang sure. Josh Heupel didn’t need to win this game but getting punked in front of 30,000 die-hard Vols’ fans felt like a drastic setback.

The team wasn’t prepared mentally to face an Ohio State team ready to ride or die on that field Saturday night. Buckeye senior defensive end Jack Sawyer embodied this attitude by terrorizing the UT sideline before the game. Some of you may not like it, but this is how you intimidate and get respect on the football field, not by pithy comments in post-game interviews and concert walk-outs with Morgan Wallen.

Mike Tyson once said in an interview “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth” and the Vols got TKO’d in the first quarter giving up 21 unanswered points. Even in today’s noticeably less violent game, rage is still an important part of a player’s mindset and these boys had absolutely none of it. Watching the defense get blown off the ball and our corners get torched, it’s clear this team needs to figure out how to refill the tank and come back next year with an emphasis on redeeming themselves from this embarrassment.

No more “we’re just happy to be here” crap. It’s time to re-adopt the old Johnny Majors' Motto “Attack, Attack, Attack always Attack”. With that in mind here are five things the Vols need to do next year:

DEVELOPMENT

• Downtown's Philips Plaza under contract to sell at dramatic loss (NBJ)
• HiFi Clyde's will close after nearly a decade (NBJ)
• Hi-Wire taproom to close in Gulch (Post)
• Vanderbilt pays $2.45M for campus-area property (Post)
• Century Farms site slated for Drury hotel sells for $5.75M (Post)

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.

📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.

🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.

👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide and yearly festival guide.

TONIGHT

🩰 Nashville Ballet w/ The Nutcracker @ TN Performing Arts Center Andrew Jackson Hall, 7p, $82+, Info

🎄The Belonging Co Christmas at the Ryman @ Ryman Auditorium, 6p & 8p, Free, Info

🎄 Timbo & Lonesome Country CHRISTMAS @ Jane's Hideaway, 8p, Info
+ modern take on classic country, bluegrass & hillbilly Jazz

🪕 Val Storey, Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle & New Monday @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info

💀 Grateful Monday @ Acme Feed & Seed, 8p, Free, Info

🕺 Motown Monday @ The 5 Spot, 9p, $5, Info

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