Historic Arkansas’ yearly eggnog competition has been a way to set sail into the Christmas season for me and my family since my son was in elementary school. The event has always proven to be crowded, messy (in the best of ways), and thoroughly enjoyable. Even with the abundance of boozy Nog offerings, there have always been one or two tables with an a booze-less drink for the kids allowing everyone a taste.
Being a part of this holiday party was absolutely on my Mocktail MO list of accomplishment goals. After reaching out to see if they might be open to the idea, I discovered it also just happened to be Historic Arkansas’ goal to have an alcohol free category of competitors this year. Talk about serendipity! …and I knew exactly what I would serve.
Last year was my first holiday season to celebrate without any alcohol; and I was on fire to create a cocktail that was festive and special. After a little trial and error I came up with something absolutely decadent, but refreshing at the same time. It was that mocktail creation I wanted to share for the Nog-off. When I first made it I used store-bought eggnog as the base, but there was no way I could enter a NOG competition without making my own. Oooh la la! Little did I know what I had gotten myself into. I poured over the internet for an appropriate recipe and finally settled on one that made the most volume per batch. The result of home made eggnog is much better tasting, but very labor intensive. In order to serve the masses that attend the Nog-off, three days were dedicated to after work eggnog making. After numerous trips to the grocery store for more ingredients to mix and blend, by day three we had it down to a science, but still only ended up with about five gallons of eggnog vs. the twelve gallons that were recommended. Yikes! I was sweating bullets the entire drive to the Historic Arkansas Museum on competition day. I just knew we would run out after thirty minutes. Hundreds of people walked through the venue, and in a fish and loaves moment we made it through the entire evening! It was truly miraculous.
To say that fun was had by all would be an understatement. Two dear friends enlisted in the Mocktail MO squad to help assemble the three different parts of the mocktail and serve it to attendees. We all pushed the drink hard with some mixed reactions. Some people were absolutely overjoyed to have an alcohol free option while a couple of people came for the booze only. They either abstained completely or lamented the lack of hooch as they sipped. A few people were confused by my being a blog writer, and not a restaurant. They would ask my location and all I could reply was “On the internet”. One woman made a point of coming back and telling me I should sell this drink. Many people asked for the recipe.
As promised this is the MO-Nogtail recipe: In a glass place 1-2 tablespoons vanilla bean ice cream. Cover the ice cream with eggnog (home made is best) Fill the rest of the glass with a spicy ginger beer. (Fever Tree or Q work well) Et Voila!!! the MO-Nogtail especially for you!
Mocktail Mo 