One of the most popular drinks during the holidays is eggnog. This drink, which has been around since the medieval times, is still made with the same core ingredients- milk, eggs, cream and sugar. These ingredients combine into a drink that is slightly more viscous than milk, with a flavor profile unlike any other. It is a very decisive drink, as many people love it, but even more despise it. A large amount of people have never even tried eggnog. Recently, new flavors of eggnog have been sold in stores. These include sugar cookie flavor, pumpkin flavor and golden flavor, whatever that is. Of the hundreds of flavors, two rise above the rest: the original eggnog and vanilla or vanilla spice eggnog.

In order to come to a conclusion as to which is better, we created a scientific experiment. We used three cups, one with traditional eggnog, one with vanilla spice eggnog and one with a palette cleanser. Our palette cleanser was soda, which was a three day old, flat root beer bottle from KFC. We cycled through the three drinks, making sure to have the soda in between the two flavors of eggnog, observing the smell, taste and mouthfeel of each eggnog.

Traditional Eggnog

Our Rating: C

The flavor profile of traditional eggnog is one that is extremely unique, to say the least. The only other food that’s consistency can be compared to it is ice cream, particularly a melted vanilla ice cream. These two foods differ greatly from then on, though.

“Eggnog is in a group of its own. It is like a sludge of sweet milk. It makes me sick just thinking about it,” freshman Melina Telleria said.

The experience of drinking eggnog is like a roller coaster- it rises up but then quickly goes down. At the start, there is bliss. Drinking a sweet drink with a perfectly portioned amount of nutmeg mixed in is amazing, but after a couple of sips, the taste grows sickening, which is the only major flaw. It is impossible to drink more than a small glass worth of eggnog. Truly, the only way to enjoy eggnog is as a small dessert drink, possibly with an added scoop of ice cream. Despite this, the first few sips are outstanding. The hint of nutmeg in each sip is perfect, without ever becoming too overwhelming. It truly is the perfect dessert drink… for about the first three ounces.

Vanilla Spice Eggnog

Our Rating: D

Vanilla Spice Eggnog is simply eggnog, with all of its flaws, but missing the essential part of what makes eggnog good; the nutmeg. The slight hint of flavor that added depth to the otherwise bland vanilla shake that eggnog is, was taken out. Even though the Vanilla Spice Eggnog has a stronger vanilla flavor, it comes at a cost we argue is far too great. The nutmeg, or more specifically the perfect amount of nutmeg, was an integral part of eggnog. We missed it far more than we expected, and realized how much it contributed to making eggnog good in the first place. This eggnog is only slightly worse than the traditional eggnog, for it improves slgihtly on one part, the vanilla, but worsens significantly on another part, the nutmeg.

“Vanilla eggnog is somehow a worse eggnog. I never thought that such a thing could exist,” freshman Patrick Heydasch said.

Despite the hateful words expressed by the masses towards eggnog, no matter the flavor, it is a unique holiday drink. It may not be for everyone but, at least for the original, its consumption is a holiday tradition. The vanilla eggnog, despite attempting to add flavor, takes away an integral part of it, ruining it.