Recipe: Rompope (egg nog liqueur)

Rompope is a delicious egg nog like liqueur you can find all over Mexico and a few other Latin American countries.  Official history has that the Spanish brought it over in the colonial days and it was often produced in convents, particularly in the area around Puebla.  Mexicans have since ran with the idea and while some convents still produce it, a lot of people choose to make it at home.  Not too long ago, Carla and I were in Cholula (in the province of Puebla) and visited a distributor for Santa Ines Rompope.  The variety of flavours available was amazing, from vanilla to peacan, and even berries and other fruits.  Duty-free restrictions limited what we could bring back, but we made sure to diligently sample them all.  

I came across a recipe a while back and got around to making it this week.  Since it needs a few weeks to ripen, it will be ready for the Christmas season.  Honestly, it is pretty tasty already, so I think if you needed it in a hurry, a couple days would be ok, but I'll hold out and give it its due time just to see the full potential.  I still love my egg nog, but after a big meal, a few sips of rompope will be pretty satisfying without the heaviness.  This recipe makes just under a litre (quart), so it's a good size to start with.

huevos!

You will need:

250ml / 1C              sugar

125ml / 1/2C           water

4                              egg yolks

177ml / 6fl oz          evaporated milk

207ml / 7fl oz          condensed milk

10ml / 2tsp              vanilla paste

187ml / 3/4C           white rum

add the milks rum and vanilla

Method:

 - put the sugar and water in a pot and bring to a simmer to dissolve the sugar - set aside to cool 

 - separate the egg yolks and give them a light whisk

 - add the evaporated and condensed milks and whisk

 - add the vanilla and rum

 - slowly pour the syrup into the mix while whisking

 - strain the mix to take out any of the egg solids

 - pour into a mason jar or bottle and store in the fridge

 - let ripen about 3 weeks

whisk in the syrup

 - start sippin' chilled and garnished with a little grated cinnamon or nutmeg

now we wait