The Golden Ratio To Know When Adding Booze To Your Holiday Eggnog

Let's face it; no Christmas party is complete without a bowl of creamy, comforting eggnog. While alcohol is a very welcome addition to welcome in the festive spirit (even Costco sells boozy eggnog), it's important that you stick to an appropriate eggnog-to-alcohol ratio to avoid overpowering your drink — and to prevent things from getting too merry! To find out the golden ratio, Food Republic spoke with Marissa Stevens, recipe developer and founder of Pinch and Swirl. 

The golden ratio is "about ¾ of an ounce of alcohol (½ a standard drink) for every cup of eggnog," Stevens told us. "It gives you the flavor without pushing the eggnog out of the picture." The best way to measure out your alcohol is using a shot glass, which typically contains 1½ ounces, so you'll want each cup of eggnog to contain about half a shot of alcohol. 

When adding ingredients that need to be carefully balanced, it can be easy to accidentally overdo it. "I do a tiny test off to the side," Stevens told us. "Just a spoonful or two of eggnog in a little glass and a splash of whatever booze I've decided on using." When happy with the mini-ratio, "scale it up for the whole batch," she added. Remember to thoroughly stir in the alcohol, so your eggnog has a consistent flavor. 

There are plenty of different types of alcohol, and each brings something new to the flavor of your eggnog. This allows for exciting customization, but also means that one ratio might not work uniformly across all types of spirits. For spirits, you can comfortably stick to ¾ of an ounce of alcohol for every cup of eggnog. "Rum is smooth and settles in quietly, so it's the easiest to work with," Marissa Stevens told us. "Brandy is nice too (particularly a quality brand) and doesn't tend to take over," and it's also super traditional to use in eggnog. 

To balance out the flavor profile of the spirits, have a go at pairing them with other festive faves. A sprinkle of cinnamon goes great with rum, and amaretto and brandy are a match made in heaven. While not as strong in ABV as spirits, liqueurs like amaretto, Kahlúa, or Baileys can bring a lot to the table, too. But remember — liqueurs are much sweeter than most alcohols. A little can go a long way, so we recommend being conservative with them before adding more. 

"Bourbon is the one I pay close attention to ... a small splash can be enough," Stevens told us. "I always start with less bourbon (½ ounce or so) and taste before adding more." Keep an eye on spirits with bold, complex flavor profiles such as whisky. Also, while Stevens recommended sticking to the golden ratio for rum, we advise being cautious when using dark rum, as this has been aged to produce more powerful, bold flavors than a standard light rum.