So the Canadian military invented a drink called “Moose Milk”, probably because they were really cold and didn’t have much to do, although the Mounties do have really nice uniforms. Apparently it’s traditional to have a glass of Moose Milk on Christmas and on the New Year’s Day levées, ceremonial gatherings Canadians have been holding since 1646, and even though I live quite a ways south of the border I know some Canadians and really want to know why they’ve never shared any of this before.
Anyway Moose Milk is a concoction of “leftover alcohol” and I have to stop right there and wonder when and how anyone ever had any leftover alcohol, especially in Canada in the middle of the winter. And apparently it got its moniker from the fact that, like a real moose, it can have quite a kick, which reminds me of a bartender I used to know who whipped up a drink he called “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle” because it was green and could kick your ass, but that’s another story.
While there are many variants Moose Milk basically seems to be cream, eggs, and sugar, plus whatever strong alcohol you have handy to kill the salmonella, which makes it sound a lot like egg nog, which got me wondering, is “egg nog” redundant? Are there other kinds of nog? For three or four Christmases my mother made homemade egg nog that was very light and had a foamy head on it–completely unlike the thick stuff you get in the store, the stuff that prompted Dave Attell to ask, “Eggnog, who thought that one up? ‘I wanna get a little drunk, but I also want some pancakes.'”
So I did a little digging, or rather a little swimming since I was diving into the history of beverages, and found that the nog in egg nog comes from Norfolk Nog, which is a brown ale or a whiskey–either way it’s alcohol, so you can have your egg or you can have your nog.
I am married to a Canadian and never heard of this. It does remind me of a mat shot though. Know what that is? In some bars you can pay the bartender a $1 and they will pick up the mat under the taps that have caught all the excess alcohol they have been pouring all night, and drain into a shot glass for you. I did it once, and only once, on a dare.
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I prefer non-alcoholic eggnog, and you know what it’s great in? Coffee! In December, I’ll pop a little in there and it’s cream, sugar and a little seasoning all on one. I suspect that you could make a Canadian Coffee – alcoholic eggnog and coffee. I just made that up. Move over, moose milk!
I’ve been Canadian all my life and never heard of this! I’d never heard the term Canadian tuxedo either until I heard it referenced on American TV. I think American pop culture makes us seem much more exotic/weird than we really are (although we ARE pretty weird, lol!)
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I feel like I can eat my pancake and have it too, Chris, whenever I visit your blog. Thanks for another delicious and spirited post.