Name: George Washington Egg-nog
Ingredients: 3 quarts of milk; 1 quart of brandy or whiskey; 12 eggs; 1¼ pounds of finely powdered sugar; ⅔ cup of Jamaica or Santa Cruz Rum

Why it works: Brandy and rum are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,058 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

George Washington Egg-nog

Ingredients

Directions

Make the eggnog

In a bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks until creamy.
Add the brandy or whiskey, beaten egg whites, milk, and rum. Stir well to combine all ingredients.

Serve

Serve the egg-nog the same day it is made.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Brandy + rumtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,058 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Milk + rumtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together967 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Sugar + rumtop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,908 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Milk + brandytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,738 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Brandy + eggtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,340 recipes

Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Egg yolks enrich the body and texture, while beaten whites add lightness and foam.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the yolks whip into a creamy base.
Milk: Provides the main liquid and moisture, giving the drink its body.
Brandy or whiskey: Adds alcohol-based warmth and aroma to the drink.
Rum: Adds deep, aromatic flavor that rounds out the sweetness.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.