“Mingus’s holiday eggnog was a concoction so delicious and mind-blowing, you would do anything to make sure that you saw him at Christmas.  Over the phone once, he gave me the recipe.”
— Janet Coleman

With holidays coming up, we decided to share Charles Mingus’s rapturous, if potentially deadly, recipe for Christmas eggnog.  In the interest of simplicity, we offer a slightly more sober rendition than the one provided by Janet Coleman in her book. (If you want the whole run-down, word for word, you can get the original by ordering  “Mingus/Mingus: Two Memoirs” by Janet Coleman & Al Young, on Amazon.)

There’s plenty of room for improvising!
Happy holidays
— Sue Mingus

1 egg per person
2 sugar cubes per egg
one shot of 151 proof Jamaican rum per person
one shot of brandy (or Bourbon) per person
some milk (amount not specified)
cream (amount not specified)
vanilla ice cream
fresh nutmeg – lots

mix milk & egg yolks in bowl
add rum very very gradually or it will burn eggs
add brandy
add whipped egg whites
add whipped cream
add fresh grated nutmeg
Stir
Add ice cream to keep eggnog cold!

On second thought, after looking at the dull facts above, am including the original below!
(Janet Coleman just wrote:  “Ha ha — nothing like the ambiguity of the real thing!  I don’t think he wanted anyone else to make as good an eggnog as his!”)

THE REAL THING

* Separate one egg for one person.  Each person gets an egg.
* Two sugars for each egg, each person.
* One shot of rum, one shot of brandy per person.
* Put all the yolks into one big pan, with some milk.
* That’s where the 151 proof rum goes.  Put it in gradually or it’ll burn the eggs,
* OK. The whites are separate and the cream is separate.
* In another pot– depending on how many people– put in one shot of each, rum and brandy. (This is after you whip your whites and your cream.)
* Pour it over the top of the milk and yolks.
* One teaspoon of sugar.  Brandy and rum.
* Actually you mix it all together.
* Yes, a lot of nutmeg.  Fresh nutmeg.  And stir it up.
* You don’t need ice cream unless you’ve got people coming and you need to keep it cold.  Vanilla ice cream.  You can use eggnog.  I use vanilla ice cream.
* Right, taste for flavor.  Bourbon? I use Jamaica Rum in there. Jamaican Rums. Or I’ll put rye in it.  Scotch. It depends.
See, it depends on how drunk I get while I’m tasting it.

–Charles Mingus