Nog

I don't like straight egg nog. It's just too thick for a drink -- more like a melted milkshake than something one is actually supposed to consume from a glass. And it fails as an alcohol delivery mechanism: I can't bring myself to buy cheap liquor, but I would never drown good liquor in egg nog. However, just because egg nog is a failure as a beverage, that doesn't mean that it is a failure as a flavoring. Here are some of my favorite egg nog-flavored products:

1. Egg nog latte. Both Starbucks and Seattle's Best Coffee (the coffee shops inside Border's bookstores) have versions, and I'm sure that lots of other chains and independents do, too. Instead of steamed milk, as in normal lattes, egg nog lattes use steamed egg nog. The coffee thins out the nog and makes it less sickly sweet, and I like it very much. I am under no illusion that this is a serious coffee product, but who cares? It's a tasty dessert.
2. Egg nog milkshakes. At one time McDonald's had a version, but I don't know if they still do. The version that I get around Christmas is from Jack In The Box. I mentioned that egg nog has the consistency of a melted milkshake, so why not make a milkshake out of it? The cold also tends to cut the sickly sweetness.
3. Egg nog ice cream. I swear that I remember Blue Bell making egg nog ice cream at one time, but it appears that they no longer do. Well, they should start making it again, and other ice cream producers should do so, too.
   
4. Egg nog cakes. The Seattle's Best Coffee place in Houston Border's has had an egg nog bundt cake that is very good. I can't tell you much about it, other than that it's dense in texture and has a concentrated egg nog flavor. Yummy.