The 4 Best Store-Bought Eggnogs, According to Our Taste Test

There are a lot of drinks that define the holiday season: hot chocolate, mulled wine, that glass of milk you may or may not leave out on Christmas Eve. But nothing quite compares to eggnog, the sweet, custardy beverage made from milk and cream, emulsified egg yolks, spices like nutmeg, and sometimes booze.

It’s a divisive drink. Many are thrown by the viscosity and borderline eggy flavor, while others look forward to it all year long. Unless you’re making it at home, eggnog is considered a seasonal product, most commonly sold from late fall through the winter holidays. With such a limited window, it’s important to pick one that’s actually delicious — one that’s even capable of winning over the eggnog haters at your holiday party. After tasting 14 side by side, we’ve determined the four best nogs you can find at the supermarket.

How we selected the eggnogs

When picking the nog contenders, we made sure to only include the most standard flavors that each brand had to offer. For example, even though Hood sells Light Eggnog, Pumpkin Eggnog, and Vanilla Eggnog, we only considered its plain Golden Eggnog. All of the eggnogs we tasted are full-fat, except for Organic Valley’s — Reduced Fat Eggnog is the only eggnog that the brand currently offers. We also decided to include lactose-free and vegan nogs to provide a recommendation to those with dietary restrictions.

How we tested

Food & Wine / Amelia Schwartz

All 14 eggnogs were chilled and shaken, then poured into unlabeled glasses for our editors to taste. We evaluated them based on flavor and texture, scoring them in each category from one (lowest) to five (highest). For flavor, we wanted eggnogs that had a rich, custardy, and high-quality dairy flavor, with balanced sweetness and prominent notes of nutmeg. For texture, we looked for a lush, creamy consistency that coats the tongue.

We also gave the eggnogs an overall score, which reflected our personal preferences and how likely we’d be to buy the product again. We averaged the scores to determine the four nogs to rule the season.

Best overall: Hood Golden Eggnog

Food & Wine / Doan Nguyen

Hood’s Golden Eggnog is for eggnog fans and skeptics alike. It’s delightfully creamy and, true to its name, golden yellow in color. And when it comes to the flavor, every single one of our editors noticed the same thing: This nog has an uncanny resemblance to melted vanilla ice cream.

That vanilla flavor was prominent and bold, complemented perfectly by Hood’s extra-thick milk. The usual eggnog spices — nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves — were fairly muted, but many of our editors considered that a perk. “It’s not a classic nog to me,” said Editorial Director Dylan Garret. “It tastes like melted ice cream, which, honestly, I think most people would enjoy more.” Buy this jug of eggnog and be assured that everyone at your holiday party will pour themselves a glass.

Best classic nog: Turkey Hill Egg Nog

Food & Wine / Doan Nguyen

If you want the prototypical eggnog, look no further than Turkey Hill’s. It’s sweet and heavily seasoned with nutmeg — you can even see specks of it throughout the drink. Most of our editors loved the pronounced yolky flavor, reminiscent of a custard, but a few were put off by it, describing it as “liquid eggs.” We unanimously loved the consistency, though. “It has Goldilocks thickness,” said Drinks Assistant Fernanda Gonzalez Blanco Serrano. “Not too watery. Not too thick.”

Best for booze: Cream-O-Land Holiday Style Egg Nog

Food & Wine / Doan Nguyen

Cream-O-Land, a dairy company based in the Northeast, makes an eggnog with all the balance of Turkey Hill with a more muted flavor. “It’s fresh, bright, fairly sweet, and pleasantly sippable,” said Associate Editorial Director Ashley Day.

The spice, custardiness, and sweetness of classic nog are there but dialed down, making it the perfect base for mixed drinks and cocktails. Add a shot of whiskey or rum, make it your coffee creamer, or use it in place of heavy cream in a White Russian. No matter what you combine it with, a splash of this drink will provide you with that distinct noggy flavor without overpowering other ingredients.

Best vegan alternative: Califia Farms Almond Milk Holiday Nog

Food & Wine / Doan Nguyen

Does Califia Farms’ eggnog alternative taste like eggnog, per se? No. Not at all. Really, it’s just vanilla almond milk, seasoned with a generous amount of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. “The spices are there, but it just tastes like poorly steeped chai,” said Garret. “It’s far too thin and in no way eggy enough to even be mistaken for a real eggnog.” And yet, we really enjoyed drinking it — which is more than we can say about the other vegan nogs we tried. We’d use it in our cereal or a dairy-free milkshake any day.