Home for the holidays?

By KYRA FREEBURG
Published: November 15, 2010

Tis the season – yes you guessed it eggnog lattes are back! It’s not like I haven’t been called a hohoho for eggnog, or heard people whisper that I am a nogaholic behind my back. I am more than comfortable with my predilection for the nog. I know from now till December 26th I will drink as much of this golden liquid as I can stand with my budding lactose intolerance problem. Soy nog is nice but it really is just a gateway to the hard stuff. However, what I will drink this year will be less than in years past. Partly because I am Lifetime at Weight Watchers so if my weight goes up too much I have to pay and partly because there is the bad juju with not holding it steady. Then there is a new wrinkle to the nog saga, which brings international intrigue. I kid you not!

A couple of years ago I spent the Christmas holiday in Berlin or rather ate and drank my Christmas holiday in Berlin. During that trip I discovered many delicious treats, too many to mention but there are two that stand out. The first is Gluhwein – a hot-spiced mulled wine that kept me warm and cheery in my many hours of wandering around seeing the sights of the city. Gluhwein was wonderful but I've had beverages very much like it in the States so it was not totally new but a new twist on an old favorite. The couple we did the house swap with told me about the second stand out, another hot beverage that is not unlike our eggnog. It is called Eierlikor, a German version of a hot, alcoholic nogggy like beverage. Eierlikor proved to be an elusive elixir, which is what got me drinking the German Gluhwein to begin with, not that anyone was twisting my arm. About 5 days into the trip my patient and weary traveling companion was pleased I had finally found Eierlikor at a Christmas festival on the outskirts of Berlin – oh my god could it be true it was even better than eggnog! It was sweet, creamy and boozy all wrapped in velvety warmth--like a liquid hug. I drank as many as I could everywhere I found them.

I was assured I would be able to order the bottle mix on returning home. So last year when my beloved eggnog latte’s appeared at fine coffee purveyors everywhere, I started my search for Eierlikor. I tried to order it online first with no success. I found a number of recipes for it but I my skills do not translate in the kitchen so I wanted to buy the already made bottle of brew I was told I could get. No luck. I slogged through dozens of websites, many in German, to try to figure out if they carried it. I even went down to the local BevMo and talked to someone after combing their shelves to find it. I was told that Eierlikor was not on the list of products they could order; he didn’t even know what I was talking about.

Well I just had my first heavy-on-the-nog-eggnog latte the other day. That means it's also time to pick up the gauntlet of Eierlikor yet again and try to bring my new love liquid home in a bottle. I started like all good researches do with Google.

I was hopeful with a place in Carlsbad called Tip Top Meats, a fine butcher shop and gourmet market of all things yummy from the Fatherland. I made a pilgrimage yesterday to see if they carry liquid hugs. I was with my local partner in crime and roving stomach John. The man eats one meal a day from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to bed. He says he eats small meals which is mostly true, (except at places like Tip Top or Phil’s BBQ), but there are 27 small meals a day, no joke. I am sure there is a Bolivian Tapeworm in his linage somewhere. The food at Tip Top is quite good. They have copious amounts of meat and potatoes in every selection, along with red cabbage and sauerkraut. This is winter food--it sticks to your ribs and keeps you warm in the cold 65-degree winters we have here in SoCal.

Overall the market is well stocked, I even found Gluhwein in the bottle, which I bought. But, there was one little fly in the ointment--fly being no Eierlikor. The owner said they could only sell beer and wine, no liquor. She suggested I go to BevMo or make it from scratch; ugh I am not sure I can pony up for such an endeavor. Knowing something is sinfully rich and making said something with a dozen egg yolks and a few cups of sugar and cream are two different things. Though my sister Susan advises to cut the creaminess of eggnog you can do 1 part eggnog and 1 part Wild Turkey. She assures me I will only need one glass. I believe her; however I might need two if I make this from scratch.

I can only hope that my new Google search for an import house for Eierlikor is more successful than last year. I can pray that national relations between Germany and the US have transcended to include the export of fine creamy, rich, sweet velvety boozy goodness. If not I am going to need a bottle of Wild Turkey, some serious dairy products, sugar, vanilla beans and Dean Martin playing in the back ground, it’s either that or a plane ticket. Come on guys, chip in and send a girl to camp Eierlikor for the holidays!

EIERLIKÖR (Egg Liquor)

8 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon sifted confectioners sugar
1 large can of condensed milk
125 milliliters grain alcohol
1 vanilla bean

Beat egg yolks then add confectioners sugar. Stir in condensed milk and grain alcohol. Beat on high speed again until foamy. Fill in bottle with wide neck and place 1 lengthwise-opened vanilla bean in bottle. Let rest for several weeks. Then enjoy.