Stuffy or cult? With the eggnog, the spirits have always been different. On one issue, however, a Supreme Court of the EU ruling has provided clarity: eggnog may not contain milk or other additives that are not listed in the relevant EU law. It's a kind of purity command: Eggnot is obtained from a distillate and / or brandy and contains high-quality egg yolk and protein as well as sugar or honey as components. The minimum sugar or honey content, expressed as invert sugar, is 150 g per liter. The minimum content of pure egg yolk is 140 g per liter of the finished product. Other ingredients are not allowed.
This was decided by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg (Case C-462/17). This should, inter alia, preserve the good reputation of European spirits. Eggnog like Advocaat is a spirit drink, flavored or not, obtained from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, distillate and / or spirit, containing, as ingredients, high-quality egg yolk and protein, and sugar or honey,' the EU says.
This is the rule of European liquor regulation. In addition, natural flavorings are still allowed. The minimum alcohol content is 14 percent. But a company from Saxony-Anhalt had now tried to add milk to the yellow drink and continue to sell it as an eggnog. A firm from Brandenburg, a federal state near by, complained against it, over the Hamburg district court finally landed the case at the highest EU court in Luxembourg.
The decision of the judges was now clear. If the list of ingredients were not considered exhaustive, consumer protection could suffer. Eggnog with cocoa, with cinnamon, or with raisins, with lime juice, with chili powder? The marketing possibilities would be no limits.
The aim of the EU law, however, is to guarantee fair competition, to prevent fraud and to secure the good reputation of European spirits on the world market, the judges argued. Therefore, there is little room for maneuver. For a long time, the eggnog was associated with a reputation as a drink for older ladies. "It is a custom of old, who has worries, also has liqueur," said Wilhelm Busch (1832 - 1908) still.
Meanwhile, he enjoys wider popularity. The rock singer Udo Lindenberg uses the liqueur as a "Gurgelstoff" at his concerts - especially for the softer songs. The Gefluegelhof Braune still offers eggnot - nowadays without milk.
