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Angel Roman has been toiling away in his Upper West Side kitchen, preparing 10 gallons of Coquito for his annual Coquito party.

“Coquito is Puerto Rican eggnog,” explains Roman. “Essentially the difference is that rum is the alcohol that's used, and also there's a coconut base, as well. The coquito really came as part of our marketing efforts to really make a party more cultural. We're a Puerto Rican/Latino group of three that make holiday cards, and this is our 30th anniversary. And somewhere around eight years into selling the cards, we started in my house, and then it grew and grew and started going to larger venues, and at the house parties, I started making coquito at the house parties. Then we would have "coquito-making" as part of the celebration, but it grew so large that it was hard to keep up with demand, so we started pre-making the coquito before the party.”

“We're making enough for about, let's say about 45 bottles,” continues Roman. “It is about nine or 10 gallons.”

Coquito is like eggnog, with its party dress on. It’s amazing.

“So you start with your eggs and you blend them with the milks -- I mean it could be almost in any order; that's where you improvise. The three different types of milk we use are whole milk; we also have condensed milk and evaporated milk,” says Roman. “Then to that you add the coconuts, which are the cream of coconut – a more thickened substance, and then coconut milk, which is not sweetened at all. Then to that we add our spices, which are typically vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon. You can other things like anise and ginger, depending on your taste. And lastly, the rum. People use light rum, dark rum -- all different types of rum.”

To give you a hint at how many calories are in a coquito, there are 130 calories in just two tablespoons of the condensed milk.

“We're not talking about the calories. People should enjoy themselves,” Roman says. “Next, we're going to have the Health Department in here stopping us.”

Roman’s partner in crime is Desi Ruiz, who helps him stick to the recipe.

“I keep you focused. That's my job,” says Ruiz.

“We have an expression from the party, which is, ‘don't blame it on the coquito,’” says Roman. “And that's like, ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.’”

To learn how to celebrate Gotham's food culture, season by season, go to EdibleManhattan.com.