New Yorkers And Eggnog: We Need To Talk

If you live in New York, chances are you have opinions about pizza, snowstorms and whether Central New York should really be called Central New York. But here is something you may not have realized you had an opinion about: eggnog strength. A new survey shows that more than 1 in 3 New Yorkers honestly believe eggnog is about as strong as a light beer.

Before you laugh it off, you are not alone. A poll of over 2,000 adults found that New Yorkers are actually more likely than the rest of the country to underestimate just how strong our holiday drinks can be.

The Big Eggnog Misconception

According to the survey, over 40 percent of adults in New York said eggnog basically has light beer energy. Anyone who has ever had a generous holiday pour of rum, whiskey or brandy knows eggnog does not play around. And it is not just eggnog.

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Almost the same number of New Yorkers think mulled wine is barely stronger than something you would sip at a backyard barbecue. 46 percent believe a hot toddy counts as a “low alcohol” cocktail. A hot toddy. The drink that exists purely because whiskey is involved.

Holiday Drinks That Sneak Up On You

The real story here is not that people misunderstand eggnog. The survey found that 57 percent of people have accidentally had more to drink at a holiday gathering because the drinks “didn’t taste strong.”

Nearly half of respondents expect hot chocolates, mulled wines and festive lattes to be weaker than the drinks you order in July. And if you put something on the menu called Santa’s Milkshake, almost half of people assume it is alcohol free.

The Myth That Holiday Cocktails Don’t “Count”

Twenty percent of people surveyed said they believe holiday cocktails somehow do not count toward drink drive limits. Maybe it is the peppermint rims. When people were asked which drink they thought they could legally drive after having just one, this was their answers. Almost a quarter said spiked hot chocolate, ten percent chose a sugar cookie martini, and seven percent picked a snowball cocktail.

New Yorkers Want Clear Labels

Most of us know we are guessing, and we do not love that. Over 75% of New Yorkers think restaurants and bars should label the alcohol strength of holiday cocktails. If we can have calorie counts on a muffin, then we should know how strong a drink called “The Gingerbread Blizzard” is.