baltimore egg nog

1 oz Madeira (Blandy's 5 Year)
1/2 oz Brandy (Pedro Domecq Fundador Solera Reserva)
1/4 oz Rum (Coruba)
3 oz Milk
1 Egg
3/4 tsp Sugar
1 pinch Cinnamon
1 pinch Nutmeg

Dissolve sugar in the milk and then add rest of ingredients. Shake once without ice and once with. Strain into a rocks glass or large punch cup and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Two Mondays ago, I was still awaiting my Tom & Jerry cups to arrive, so I started looking at egg nog recipes to stave off that craving. For a drink, I selected the Baltimore Egg Nog as the use of Madeira seemed rather unique. After looking through several books in our collection, I used the one in O.H. Byron's 1884 Modern Bartender's Guide; most other recipes called for a lot more milk which would have made for a rather large and dilute drink. Moreover, O.H. Byron's recipe called for the whole egg instead of just the yolk, and this egg white might have taken the place of the other's additional dairy.
The nutmeg garnish contributed greatly to the drink's aroma. Flavor-wise, the Coruba Rum and Fundador brandy on the sip greatly complemented the Madeira on the swallow. Moreover, the egg and milk served to smooth out the sharp oxidized notes of the Madeira but still allowed it to donate a good amount of character to the end of the sip. Unfortunately, I think I was a bit light on the pinches of cinnamon and nutmeg for the spices levels were on the subtle side.