In the egg nog battle, which creamy, spiced, egg concoction reigns supreme?
The Valley Advocate staff held a blind tasting last week of some of the area’s finest nogs and the results were shocking.
Local and store-bought brands were sampled by Advocate editors Kristin Palpini, James Heflin and Jeff Good, and reporters Amanda Drane and Hunter Styles. We scored the beverages on a scale of 1 (yuck) to 5 (yum). After finishing our cups and rubbing our tummies we were all surprised to learn that our top pick was not one of the micro-crafted punches, but Stop & Shop’s deliciously creamy generic egg nog.
Stop & Shop Egg Nog
Score: 3.7
$3.49/ half gallon: 20 grams sugar per serving, 9 g. fat
This generic nog crushed the local, organic and more expensive competition. Stop & Shop’s brand had the rich creaminess, smooth finish and well-balanced spicing you expect from the classic Christmas beverage. In this full-bodied nog, egg, cream, ginger, vanilla, and nutmeg go together like Santa and cookies.
James: “It’s a stoic egg nog; it doesn’t want to give up its flavors too readily — a demanding nog.”
Kristin: “It’s rich, festive and indulgent with a good balance of spice and cream.”
Hunter: “It’s closer to cream than milk, nutmeggy. It’s like drinking liquid pudding — I like this one.”
Amanda: “It’s what egg nog should taste like.”
Jeff: “Creamy and complex with notes of nutmeg and log ash.”
Mapleline Farm
Holiday Egg Nog Score: 2.8
$7.99/half gallon: sugar and fat content not printed on bottle
Before we got to sampling, Advocate staff were pretty sure Mapleline or High Lawn would take the title of most epic nog. Yet, we gave this egg nog from Hadley mid-grades.
Amanda: “The vanilla is dominant. The nog is creamy, buttery.”
Kristin: “The sugar is kind of chalky.”
Jeff: The nog is “short of character; maybe OK for adding to coffee.”
High Lawn Farm
Egg Nog
Score: 2.4
$4.79/half gallon: 21 g. sugar, 7 g. fat
James dubbed this a “polarizing nog” as one of the tasters was a big fan while the rest of us were less impressed by this beverage from Lee.
Kristin: “It had an initial bubble gum flavor, then the egg came through. It has a milky consistency.”
Amanda: “It seems the flavors are not balanced. Something is too strong and it’s thin.”
Jeff: “This egg nog is being unfairly judged. It has a nice balance of sweet, spicy and I like the black flecks [of spice] dancing around in my cup.”
So Delicious Nog,
Dairy-free Coconut
Milk Beverage Score: 1.1
$2/1 quart: 15 g. sugar, 2.5 g. fat
This is not egg nog. It just isn’t.
Jeff: “It tasted like sweetened phlegm. It’s a good substitute for a lump of coal for that special naughty someone.”
James: “It’s a most intriguing flavor — not in a good way. It would benefit by being spiked with brandy. It needs something else going on.”
Amanda: “Gross. Tastes like suntan lotion.”
Organic Valley Eggnog
Score: 2.2
$3.50/1 quart: 17 g. sugar, 10 g. fat
Jeff had one word to describe this egg nog, “musty.” Think that says it all.
Amanda: “It makes the inside of my mouth feel fizzy. It’s chalky and lacking body.”
Hunter: “There’s a lot of nutmeg. This is your great-grandmother’s egg nog. It’s not quite sweet enough.”
Kristin: “It’s thin, but creamy, but also lacking fat. I miss the fat.”
Hood Limited Edition
Golden EggNog Score: 3.1
$3.07/32 ounces: 21 g. sugar, 9 g fat
National dairy distributor Hood got its start in Charlestown back in the 1860s. Hood has been making its “golden” nog for more than 50 years. It’s widely available locally, which is always a plus when you’re picking up supplies in between shopping, parties and holiday preparations. This nog impressed with its first sip and was persistent in its eggy goodness to the very last.
Jeff: “I enjoyed the initial spice notes, but found the aftertaste sludgy.”
Hunter: “Distinctly eggy, which is a good thing … and fairly smooth.”
James: “It has a persistent flavor — it really sticks around with a decided aftertaste of spice, but not sweet.”
