There are few holiday staples as polarizing as eggnog. Candy corn may come close, and Easter Peeps might as well make or break the holiday depending on which side of the aisle you’re on. But nothing comes close to eggnog. Either you love it. Or you hate it. And no matter which side you’re on, you do so with a passion.

It actually wasn’t until cooking school that I even gave eggnog a second chance. It was then that I came across the excellent book “The Elements of Taste” by Gray Kunz and Peter Kaminsky. This eggnog — this take on a detested drink — actually appealed to me. Honestly, it was the method — the seemingly insane amount of work that the recipe required — that piqued my interest.

The recipe from Kunz and Kaminsky — they call it “Bigger Eggnog” — is not your typical nog. The method takes time, yes, but it’s worth every second. For a host of reasons….