Eggnog: you love it or hate it. Around this time of year, it’s hard to step foot in a restaurant, bar or friend’s house without someone offering you a holiday spirited cocktail. From spiked apple cider to a classic Tom & Jerry to cranberry martinis, holiday cheer is plentiful in December, in more ways than one.
I am a bit of an anomaly — I love eggnog, but generally find it too thick and cloying to drink more than a few sips, so making it from scratch is more effort than it’s worth. Brad isn’t much of a mixed drink guy — he drinks beer, wine and the most festive cocktail you’ll see him sipping is gin and tonic. Yet, every year in December I find myself drawn to fill my shopping cart with eggnog and use it in some of my favorite holiday recipes. Last year I made Iced Eggnog Cookies that were hugely popular in my office and this year, Chila ‘Orchata Cinnamon Cream Rum has been a game changer in my kitchen.
Chila ‘Orchata mixes the richness of Puerto Rican rum, spice of cinnamon horchata and sweetness of Tahitian vanilla for a delicious result. Just the right amount of sweet, the cinnamon cream rum serves up a kick in cocktails or can be enjoyed on the rocks for a blissful nightcap. Produced and bottled in Louisville, KY, Chila is a fanciful flavor name for the horchata-like cinnamon cream rum. Horchata is a creamy drink that’s popular in Latin America and is typically made with milk, rice and/or sesame seeds, and spices like vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and cocoa
December is a great time of year to merge your desserts and your cocktails into one decadent category. If you’re like me, and eggnog on its own isn’t quite your bag, adding Chila ‘Orchata will give it a boozy kick and some salted caramel flavor will take it up a notch from thirst quencher to sweet tooth solution.
A lot of eggnog punch recipes contain ice cream, frozen whipped topping and soda, but because eggnog is so rich on its own and Chila is so full of flavor, it didn’t seem necessary to me to go overboard. I made two versions of this (it was a huge sacrifice, as you can probably imagine) and one contained ice cream and the other did not. If you add French vanilla ice cream, you do get a creamier consistency for the beverage, but you can still get that same warm and nutty vanilla flavor with vanilla spices and extract, with a little less sugar.
- 1 quart dairy eggnog or homemade eggnog chilled (4 cups)
- 1 bottle Chila 'Orchata Cinnamon Cream Rum
- 1 cup Salted Caramel Coffee Creamer
- Caramel sauce for glass rim
- Sugar for glass rim
- Ground cinnamon and nutmeg, for garnish
- Place eggnog, Chila 'Orchata and salted caramel flavored coffee creamer into a bowl. Stir to combine and sprinkle mixture with cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Pour caramel sauce onto one small plate and sugar onto another. Place each glass upside down in caramel, then sugar, rimming the edge of the glass. Ladle punch into glasses and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon (about ⅛ teaspoon per serving) and nutmeg (a pinch per serving). Enjoy immediately.
8 Comments
Recipe of the Day: Day 18, Salted Caramel Eggnog | Dining at my Desk
December 18, 2016 at 6:41 pm[…] For the full recipe with instructions, visit Maris at In Good Taste! […]
Cathy Trochelman
December 13, 2016 at 3:42 pmLOVE me some Chila…..and salted caramel! Yum!
Maryanne | the little epicurean
December 13, 2016 at 11:49 amWow! That ‘Orchata sounds delicious. I’ll have find that before our holiday parties. I totally feel you on the eggnog situation. I like the flavors, but the thickness scares me! Punch is the perfect way to go!
Sabrina
December 13, 2016 at 9:39 amWhat a perfect drink for a holiday party! My family would love this!
Erin @ Texanerin Baking
December 13, 2016 at 4:38 amWow! This looks so very tasty. 🙂
Amanda | The Chunky Chef
December 12, 2016 at 9:33 pmYay for my favorite holiday drink popping up in fun and delicious punches like this one!
Michelle | A Latte Food
December 12, 2016 at 9:09 pmThis is such a festive and fun idea! And, caramel. I would eat just about anything with caramel!
Erin @ The Speckled Palate
December 12, 2016 at 8:40 pmI’ve always been so-so with eggnog because it’s so thick. I love the idea of turning it into a punch with Chila ‘Orchata! What a fun, festive drink for the season!