Distilled: Van Winkle Family Christmas Eve Eggnog

The very nature of tradition means that they are meant to be shared. For the true magic in any tradition is the moment that it is passed along to a new generation, taking on the stories, the characters and the joy created. Holidays tend to be the time we all return to those traditions, dust them off and celebrate them again. Some are followed to a T, so ingrained in us we no longer remember the real genesis. Others are still being carefully crafted, and move and change with us during each season of life.

While for our family, our family's business and family lore, almost everything revolves around a legacy and tradition that began long ago and is entirely a part of each of us just as it remains its own singular element. At once ever present and yet so natural it connects us all with an invisible string. Creating opportunities to not only celebrate our family's unique traditions and legacies, but to share them beyond our own family, is one of the main reasons we started Pappy & Company ten years ago.

 Holiday season is not surprisingly one of our favorite times of year as we reflect on the family traditions we continue to celebrate and the new ones we create every year with our own growing families.  One such tradition that has never wavered is our Christmas Eve Eggnog. Arguably the most familiar and well-known festive drink, there are many recipes and ways to enjoy this creamy confection. Ours, naturally, was crafted to be enjoyed with, you guessed it, a dash of our Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, yet evolving, as all traditions do, over the years to be enjoyed with any bourbon you enjoy. 

Perhaps the most important evolution of our Van Winkle Christmas Eve Eggnog was adopted a few years ago, when a curious young cousin desired a sip of the frothy beverage being gracefully ladled from a shiny punchbowl into the awaiting Mint Julep glasses proffered by each of the adults. As young cousins do, the accidental sip was recognized immediately as a very wrong turn and just as quickly, a note appeared, in the scrawled hand writing matching one of the recent notes sent to Santa Claus, with the very important warning, "For Adults Only!" Heed this young warning, and enjoy our family's special Eggnog however and whenever you celebrate the joys of the Holiday Season.

While not everyone agrees with the following sentiment, we wholeheartedly do. The vessel, the drinkware, the occasion all make a difference in the enjoyment of the final product. For us, part of enjoying our traditional Christmas Eve Eggnog is the fact that it is one of the only times we pull out the original Pappy Van Winkle punchbowl. 

Watching the ceremonious arrival of the punchbowl each holiday season feels like a tradition in and of itself. Just as pulling out the Christmas ornaments and tucking favored decorations all over the house embodies the spirit of the season, the punch bowl signified that something special was about to happen. It was this shared excitement and anticipation of celebrating traditions that led us to our collaboration with Thompson Traders and our Everyday Heirlooms Collection. A replica of our Pappy's punchbowl, designed with the same intention and legacy, yet modernized to invite us all to continue to create family traditions. 

We wanted something, inspired by the original punchbowl, that we could use regularly to bring a sense of that celebration and tradition to our everyday lives. That allowed us to mix and match freely and that provided a moment. Either as a traditional punchbowl, with family and friends gathered around, cups full of celebratory libations, or as a centerpiece to a casual Sunday supper, filled with flowers or spilling over with freshly plucked garden finds. 

One thing is for certain, this Christmas Eve, though we won't all be in one place, we will all be gathered around our own Everyday Heirlooms Pappy Punchbowl looking forward to celebrating with a glass (or two...) of our family's very special Eggnog. 

Cheers! 
Carrie, Louise & Chenault 

Learn more about the special role that Pappy Van Winkle's original punchbowl has played in the evolution of our own personal entertaining and hostess style as shared with Veranda magazine's Party Tricks!