Homemade Italian Eggnog VOV Liquor

If you like Zabaione, you will love this Italian Eggnog VOV liquor, made from scratch with fresh eggs and Marsala wine. It is creamy and luscious, the perfect drink for Christmas celebrations. Serve it at the end of a meal with the meringues made with the leftover egg whites.

Jump to:

• A liquor born from necessity
• Eating raw eggs
• Ingredients
• Step by step instructions with images
• Storing it and serving it
• For a signature gift, add a professional label and a recipe book to print to your homemade liqueur.
• How to serve it
• The perfect edible gift
• 📋 Italian Eggnog VOV Liquor

A liquor born from necessity

This liquor originated in the Veneto region in the town of Padua. It was invented in the 19th century by a famous artisan baker Gian Battista Pezziol, a Torrone producer.

He used many fresh egg whites for his Torroni, so he always had plenty of egg yolks left over.

He had the idea to use the egg yolks in a liquor he called VOV, from the dialect name of egg "vovi". The success was instant in Italy as well as abroad.

During the second world war, the liquor was mass-produced to support the Italian troops and called VAV2 "Vino Alimento Vigoroso" (Vigorous Food Wine).

Later this drink became very popular on the ski slopes with the name of "bombardino", served hot, topped with brandy, and garnished with whipped cream.

While most Bombardino recipes are made with industrial liquor, here you can make it from scratch.

For more recipes using egg whites, you can check the Nougat recipe Torrone, Mini Meringues, Mont Blanc dessert, Chestnut Pavlova, Floating Island, or watch the web story: Desserts Using Egg Whites.

Eating raw eggs

This liquor is made with raw eggs, so you must ensure the eggs are very fresh.

Ingredients

To make this liquor, you need:

• 5 egg yolks
• 1 cup - 100 g icing sugar
• 1 ½ cups - 400 g of caster sugar
• 2 cups - 500 ml whole milk
• ½ cup - 100 ml Marsala wine
• ½ cup - 100 ml 95% alcohol or vodka

Also, check the article: Setting up a liqueur workshop

Step by step instructions with images

Prepare the milk

1. Pour in a pan the milk and the caster sugar
2. Stir and bring to boil
3. Let it simmer for 20 minutes making sure the milk doesn't boil over the pan
4. Let it cool down completely

Make the eggnog

1. Separate the egg yolks. You can use the whites to make meringues
2. Put in a bowl the egg yolks
3. and the icing sugar
4. Whip until the mix becomes foamy and clear. The color will slowly change from the orange of the egg yolk to a creamy whitish color
5. Add the milk passing it through a sieve to remove any cream clumps in the milk

6. Whip until it is all combined
7. Add the Marsala wine and the alcohol
8. Whip for 1 more minute

Storing it and serving it

Pour the eggnog into a bottle and store it in the fridge. It will keep for 3 week

To serve it, shake it well and pour it into a nice glass pitcher

How to serve it

This homemade version of the VOV liquor is much more luscious than the industrial one and I prefer to drink it as it is and in small quantities.

You can serve it cold, warm or at room temperature. If you warm it up, don't pass the 140 F - 60 C otherwise the eggs will cook.

As it is very creamy you can also use it to top chocolate cake, pandoro or panettone.

I like to serve it at the end of a winter meal with the homemade meringues I made with the leftover egg whites or with a dry biscuit.

With the leftover egg whites, you can also try to make Torrone and offer it with the eggnog.

Making eggnog cocktails

If you want to make a cocktail with this eggnog, I would recommend to check out these two options from my blogger friend Elaine on Dishes Delish:

• Chocolate Eggnog Martini: With only 3 ingredients, this eggnog martini is smooth and perfect to serve around the holidays!
• Eggnog shot: A fun and delicious shot to serve at your next holiday party!

Make Bombardino eggnog from scratch

If you want to make a Bombardino to drink on the ski slopes from scratch, use this Italian eggnog.

1. Gently warm it up not more than 140 F - 60 C, otherwise the egg will cook
2. Add a tablespoon of brandy, whisky (schottish), or rum (pirate) per glass
3. Garnish with whipped cream
4. Dust some cocoa

The perfect edible gift

I like to make some extra bottles of my homemade liqueurs and offer them an edible gift. This eggnog is perfect to give to family and friends at Christmas time.

You will find here below a collection of my homemade liqueurs with their recipes:

• limoncello
• limoncello cream
• chocolate liqueur
• nocino
• curacao
• strawberry liqueur
• licorice liqueur
• Violet liqueur
• blueberry liqueur

Check out the category: Homemade liquors

You can also check out the web story: 9 Homemade Italian Liqueurs

For those of you who like the thrill of the forbidden fruit, try to make Concord Grape Wine Fragolino.

Banned in Europe for commercial use, you can only try it if you make it for personal consumption.

Zabaione or Zabaglione liquor

However, Italian eggnog recipes are found much earlier and they were called Zabaione or Zabaglione liquor.

The names are linked to famous chefs Giovan Paolo Baglioni (Zuan Baglion) or the monk San Pasquale Baylón (San Baylón). It is not clear which one is the right one, you can call it as you like. I always called it Zabaione.

Originally, in the 16th century, it was a drink made with beer, now it refers to a drink made with egg and Marsala wine.

This recipe is listed by the Emilia Romagna region in their traditional recipes database: Prodotti Agroalimentari Tradizionali (P.A.T.)

If you are making this Italian Eggnog VOV, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.