Over at Seattlest, I’m revealing the age-old secrets of my family’s egg nog recipe, passed down from my maternal great-grandfather J. P. Hartt. This is the stuff of legends, dear reader, and it’s been corrupting the youth of my family for generations. We’ve never been a video-camera kind of gang, but our one family gathering on tape, the Christmas of 1987, is now famous for my (then) eight-year-old cousin Katie’s announcement that her favorite part of the holiday was “drinking egg nog with boooooze in it.”

Egg nog gets a bad rap* in some circles today, and it’s no wonder: all too often, it’s nasty, viscous, cloying stuff, no better than cheap melted ice cream. J. P. Hartt’s rendition is the greatest of exceptions. Smooth, sophisticated, and with a slurpability that belies its richness, it is subtly sweet and, needless to say, very, very boozy. Cheers to you and yours, from me and mine.

*If you are concerned about the safety (or lack thereof) of using raw eggs, please read my notes in the comments section of the post.