Akuinnen: One year I made Alton Brown's egg nog. It was actually pretty good. Maybe it was the bourbon.

For several years now I've mixed up a double or triple batch of that in the fall and handed it out (in last year's wine advent calendar bottles, they're the perfect size) to friends and family at Christmastime. This year has been insanely busy and expensive, so I just made the limited run 2022 half-batch tonight and will serve a much lighter, more traditional rum punch or something at my Christmas party.

The store-bought stuff is fine if you cut it with milk, or use it as coffee creamer, but I've never been able to drink more than a few sips straight. Tip: don't try to use real homemade eggnog as creamer in hot coffee unless you like drinking scrambled eggs.