It’s that time of year again! Christmas decorations are out and holiday drinks like egg nog are everywhere. Trouble is, where do you start? If you’re new to food allergies, or new to egg nog, I’ve got you covered with this egg nog review. \
This year I scooped up both dairy and non-dairy holiday drinks to sample and report on. The Papa did all of the dairy based egg nog reviews for you, and Kid Two did all of the non-dairy holiday drinks and egg nog reviews.
It’s important to note that Kid Two has never had dairy based egg nog or other dairy based holiday drinks. He has no point of reference, and his review will reflect that. I had The Papa sample the non-dairy drinks as well, and well, you can read what happened.
This season we’re comparing several plant-based milk types, as well as flavours. There are a few more that will pop up on the market after this review has been published, and you should feel brave and give them a go.
No allergy status for this review, as it’s a mixed assortment of products. Up First, All of the Dairy Free Drinks
Good Karma Dairy Free Holiday Nog (Top Pick)
This drink is amazing! 10/10, absolutely love it! Drinking this feels very holiday, and it reminds me of Christmas. It’s not grainy, totally smooth, and thicker than the standard Good Karma Flax Milk. This is good and noggy.
This drink contains flax, sunflower, and corn derivatives.
Silk Nog Original (Close Second)
Wow! This is really cool! I’m not sure which is better: the Good Karma or the Silk. Usually Silk is my favorite holiday drink brand, but the Good Karma is right up there too. I really like the cinnamon flavor in this drink.
A note from The Allergy Chef: while I’m not a huge fan of non-fermented soy products, I do appreciate how few ingredients there are in this product.
This drink contains soy and corn derivatives. The label discloses that it’s made in a shared facility with tree nuts.
Califia Holiday Nog Almond Milk (Third Favorite)
I don’t know that I like this one as much. It’s missing a lot of the egg nog flavor. I seem to be tasting ginger. Even though it’s ginger-y, I’d still drink it.
This drink contains almonds, sunflower, corn derivatives. Additionally, it does contain ginger, and he didn’t know that when sampling.
Good Karma Dairy Free Pumpkin Spice Nog (Least Favorite)
Hmmm… It’s still good… I’d rate it 8/10, maybe 7.5/10. You can taste the pumpkin for sure. It’s not my favorite.
This drink contains flax, sunflower, and corn derivatives.
Notes From The Papa
The Papa sampled each of the four non-dairy holiday drinks. Each time, he had a funny look on his face when sampling. He felt the Good Karma had a strange after taste and lacked egg nog flavour. He thought the Silk didn’t have the right smell like traditional nog, but the texture was much closer. However, it lacked flavour. He said the Califia had hints of artificial bubble gum smells and taste, and it wasn’t as good as the Silk. Finally, the Good Karma Pumpkin, he felt that it had a good pumpkin flavour, but not enough sweetness.
The Wide Range of Calories
I examined the calorie counts on the non-dairy and dairy containers and saw right away why he didn’t like these four options. The dairy & egg based nog ranged from 160 – 190 calories per serving. The non-dairy drinks ranged from 45 – 80 calories per serving. That’s a HUGE range to say the least. With a difference that large, it speaks to lack of sweetness and body, if you’re use to traditional, dairy based, nog.
The Papa’s Final Note on Non-Dairy Drinks:
If you can go dairy/traditional, go dairy. Egg nog is a treat… it’s something special that happens one or two months out of the year. if you really like it, find the one that you like the best. There are so many options out there and they all have their own flavour profiles, textures, and nuances.
Find what you enjoy, and don’t be afraid to experiment with new-to-you drinks. If you need to have a non-dairy drink like Silk, Good Karma, Almond Dream, Califia, or the others, try them all (if you can) and see which you like best.
As someone who can have dairy i would never recommend these drinks to another dairy drinker. I would however encourage parents and family members to support their non-dairy drinkers if needed. And remember, it’s a treat, with lots of calories, so don’t go crazy.
On to the Dairy/Egg Based Drinks
Every year, I hear complaints that I don’t buy enough egg nog. After this sampling experience, I agreed that there wouldn’t be any complaining this year, lol.
Before sampling any of the drinks, The Papa took the time to look at each one and smell it. He said the maple bourbon, you can smell the maple and the bourbon which is really cool.
Organic valley seems to have a hint of nutmeg in the smell. The nutmeg in the Alexandre smells good. The Clover non-organic seems plain in smell. Organic Valley has a smell that’s nice and strong. The Costco version smells like what we both remember egg nog to be in a traditional non-alcoholic drink.
Organic Valley Egg Nog (Top Pick)
The Allergy Chef liked that this had the least amount of ingredients in a clean sort of way. Sugar is higher on the ingredient list, which we found interesting. The taste was very similar to the Alexandre brand. However, this drink seems to have more punch on the flavor, even though it doesn’t contain the same ingredients. I’m not quite sure how they did this, but it has such a great egg nog flavor without having the extra ingredients, yet it seems to have them. It could also be the vanilla… This is the only egg nog with vanilla.
(Costco) Clover Sonoma Premium Organic Egg Nog (Second Favorite)
He didn’t have much to say about this drink. It has a little bit of a stronger flavor when compared to the Clover Sonoma Egg Nog (non-organic).
Clover Organic Bourbon Egg Nog (Third Favorite)
Well, it’s another Clover brand drink, so i think it’s along the same lines as the other Clover options in the flavor department. The maple bourbon flavor really comes through, but of course, non-alcoholic. For those looking for an alcoholic egg nog flavor they’ve captured it quite nicely with this drink. Note: This is speculation as I don’t drink and I’ve never had bourbon. My sentiments are based on the differences in the clover nogs.
Clover Sonoma Egg Nog (non-organic) (Fourth Favorite)
This has a nice smooth flavor. The texture seems to be a standard egg nog texture. and there’s no bad aftertaste.
Alexandre Family Farm Organic Egg Nog (Fifth Favorite)
There’s a flavor that’s staying with me (sitting in my mouth)… some may consider it a bad aftertaste, could go either way. This is the only one to use cinnamon, clove, and all spice. Makes for an interesting flavor, seems very nice.
Final Notes
Overall, they were all delicious, and similar in texture. We did review a few of the Clover ingredient differences and saw that one of the drinks had whey powder and dextrose. We think that’s why it was lower on the list of favorites. After all of the sampling was done, The Papa took one of the drinks and added some cinnamon, nutmeg, and five spice (traditional in root beer). He said it was very interesting, and it a whole new layer of (nice) flavour.
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