It's been well documented that our Taster's Choice panelists aren't exactly fond of store-bought eggnog. In a tasting five years ago, only Safeway's house brand, Lucerne, earned anything resembling a lukewarm recommendation.
Faced this year, then, with a quartet of alternative nogs - those made from soy, rice and coconut-based milks - I expected the results to be pretty dismal. After all, if the panelists didn't like eggnog, wouldn't they skewer vegan nogs without the egg and milk?
As it turns out, the nondairy nogs fared about the same as the regular ones, which is to say to that they were mostly various degrees of bad. And yet, the winning nog, So Delicious, earned a score that would have put it second to Lucerne in a combined tasting.
So Delicious' coconut milk nog ($3.29 for 1 quart at Safeway) was texturally the "closest to eggnog" - "rich" and "creamy" with a "good thickness." It was also "very sweet." "The flavor is good - if you like coconut." If not, the nog might taste slightly "medicinal" or "artificial." Two would buy, one might and two would not.
In second place was Earth Balance ($2.89 for 1 quart at Rainbow Grocery). This soy-based nog was the favorite of one taster, who liked the "thin, but creamy texture" and "nutmeg" spicing. Another thought the flavor was "acceptable, if mild."
But the rest disagreed, writing that the "soy was overwhelming" and the spicing "too strong," to the point of tasting like "furniture polish." While one panelist would buy and one might, the other three would not.
Silk ($2.99 for 1 quart at Whole Foods) was third with its "very yellow" seasonal soy nog. "Thin and watery," whatever flavor this nog had was "masked" by what one panelist said tasted like fake rum. A "soy aftertaste," didn't help. None would buy this brand.
It only got worse from there. Coming in last was Rice Dream ($3.30 for 1 quart at Whole Foods), whose "weak and watery" rice nog tasted "like horchata" - "sweet and cinnamon-scented," and perhaps "OK as a nondairy drink," but definitely "not eggnog." Again, none of the tasters would buy this brand.
