Nutmeg is the oldest cocktail garnish there is: grated over punch in the 1700s, over flips and nogs in the 1800s, over the Brandy Alexander and the Painkiller today. A few scrapes of a whole nutmeg across a microplane, over the surface of a cream or egg drink, add a warm, sweet, slightly camphorous spice that the drinker smells before every sip — and the pre-ground tin is not the same thing.

What is grated nutmeg, as a garnish?

The seed of the nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans), grated fresh over the top of a finished drink so that the powder sits on the surface or on a foam. Nutmeg's aroma is in volatile oils that fade within hours of grating, which is why the whole seed is grated to order and why the ground spice in a jar tastes of dust. It has been the garnish for punch since the seventeenth century — the great punch bowls came with a nutmeg grater on a chain — and for every egg, cream and milk drink since: the flip, the nog, the milk punch, the Alexander, the Bumbo and the Painkiller, where it is the drink's signature. A whole nutmeg lasts for years and costs almost nothing. The spice is mildly toxic in large doses; a few scrapes on a drink is nowhere near.

How to use it

Hold a whole nutmeg against a microplane or a nutmeg grater over the finished drink and grate three or four strokes — enough to dust the surface lightly, not to carpet it. On a foam (an egg-white sour, a flip, an Alexander) the dust sits on top; on a Painkiller or a Bumbo over ice it falls into the drink and that is fine. Grate at the last moment, after the drink is poured and garnished, since the aroma is the point and it goes quickly. A nutmeg grater with a compartment for the seed is the traditional tool; a microplane is better. Mace, the nutmeg's lacy covering, is the same flavour and is used in the same way, ground.

What to use instead

Freshly ground cinnamon, for a sweeter, warmer dust — the Spanish choice on a coffee drink. Allspice, for a Caribbean note on a rum drink. A grating of dark chocolate on an Alexander. Pre-ground nutmeg from a jar, if there is nothing else, at twice the quantity and with the understanding that it is not the same. No garnish at all on an Alexander is a loss; on a Painkiller it is a different drink.

Drinks with grated nutmeg

The cream drinks: the Brandy Alexander, the Alexander and the Brandy Milk Punch. The egg drinks: Eggnog, the Baltimore Eggnog and the Brandy Flip. The rum drinks: the Painkiller, Bumbo, Hot Buttered Rum and the Bahama Mama. The punches: Fish House Punch and Planter's Punch in the old style. The hot drinks: Mulled Wine. Every drink garnished with grated nutmeg is listed below.

Questions

Whole or ground? Whole, grated to order; ground nutmeg has lost its oil.

How much? Three or four strokes on a microplane — a light dust.

Is nutmeg safe? In garnish quantities, entirely; it is toxic only by the tablespoon.

Which grater? A microplane; a nutmeg grater with a seed compartment is the traditional tool.

Can I grate it ahead? No; the aroma is gone in an hour. Grate over each drink as it is served, which takes five seconds and is the whole ceremony of a flip.

Does it go in the drink or on top? On top, always, where the nose finds it; a nutmeg stirred in is a spice, not a garnish, and the mulled drinks are the only ones that want that.