Eggstatic

I have enjoyed egg nog since I can remember, it was a staple at holiday meals...and for some rason, I think it was that Borden stuff that comes in a can...my have times changed, I can't even imagine drinking egg nog from a can.  I remember the first time I tasted WaWa egg nog, it was in the fall of 1990, it was delicious - thick, creamy, just the right blend of spices.  Every subsequent fall I have consumed gallons of WaWa egg nog. 

Two years ago, I went into a WaWa and purchased egg nog...only this time, the carton was not black with gold writing, it was a cinnamon colored carton with cream writing.  I wrongfully assumed that only the packaging had been updated...actually the formula had been changed - it was thin, sweet, and the spices were all wrong...I called customer service and they assured me that it was the same formula.  I highly doubted it, WaWa was no longer the small dairy farm located in Lima...it was beyond regional with huge WaWa gas station convenience stores all over the place.  This new business model had ruined my egg nog. 

Since then, my egg nog consumption has decreased, the pleasure of sipping a cup of egg nog was but a distant memory.  I started venturing out, trying other brands but they were all too thin, too yellow, or the spices were not quite right...I tried Southern Comfort, Horizon, Trader Joes, all kinds of store brands, and finally settled on Turkey Hill.  I was beginning to think I would have to make my own egg nog. 

I stopped in the Alexandria Whole Foods Tuesday night to pick up a few essentials.  When I was checking out, I noticed egg nog in old fashioned milk bottles.  It was nostalgic, I remember my grandmother getting milk, eggs, and oj delivered.  I picked up a bottle, read the ingredients, and thought I would give it a try -$3.99 + $2 bottle deposit.  I must say, not only does Homestead Creamery's egg nog lack the artificial taste present in all of the other brands, it is fantastic.  I have savored every sip. 

This dairy farm in Wirtz, VA is a classic example of the von Thunen model; unfortunately with refrigerated trucking, this model is a bit obsolete because milksheds have vastly increased in size.  I desperately need to find a creamery in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, although theoretically VA could be considered within my foodshed.