I have a confession to make (let it out Bob, confession is good for the soul). Two, actually. Not only have I never made my own eggnog for Christmas, I usually just buy the store bought stuff. Yeah, I know.

It's not that the store stuff is terrible. I wouldn't drink it every year if I didn't like it. It's an OK substitute for people like me who are lazy intimidated by eggnog recipes. I mean, making a drink with sugar and eggs that you have to separate? I've never wanted to do it (though if I did, this one sounds good).

While surfing around I found this recipe for an eggnog called a White Christmas. It sounds like a nice twist on the classic.

Though you might associate the peach based bourbon called Southern Comfort with Tennessee, the liquor was actually created in New Orleans, giving us the perfect reason to break out that half bottle we have left in the cabinet for Mardi Gras.

In 1874, M.W. Heron developed Southern Comfort at his New Orleans bar on Bourbon Street. It was 15 years later that Heron moved to Memphis, Tennessee, seeking his fortune by selling his whiskey on Beale Street. Southern Comfort (SoCo is you're a native) went on to win a gold medal for quality and taste at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri.

One of the most famous drinks made with SoCo is called the Scarlett O'Hara, created in 1939 as a tribute to the movie Gone With the Wind. It is simply 1.5 oz. SoCo topped off with cranberry juice and garnished with a twist of lime. 

Other popular drinks made with SoCo are the Alabama Slammer, Red Death (about as toxic as a Long Island Iced Tea), and something that a friend introduced me to, the Southern Sunrise (like a tequila sunrise). To make something a little snazzy for Mardi Gras, epicurious has a Southern Comfort Champagne Cocktail.

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