Place sugar and spices in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Stir the sugar/spices mixture until everything is thoroughly mixed, then pour in the eggnog.

Stir everything again until sugar has mostly dissolved and the mixture is like a thick, yellow-colored syrup.

Add in the corn syrup and place the pot on the stove. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.

When it boils, stop stirring and do not stir again at all for the rest of the fudge-making process. Seriously. You'll want to, but don't. It will mess with the consistency. Allow the mixture to get up to 237 degrees F, as measured on a properly calibrated candy thermometer. (if you're not sure if yours is properly calibrated, boil some water over high heat until it reaches a full, rolling boil and then stick your thermometer in it and see what the reading is. It should 212 degrees F. If it's not, take into account the difference when you're using the thermometer for the fudge. So, say your thermometer reads 209 degrees, this means you will let the fudge mixture cook until the thermometer reads 234 degrees. Or if your thermometer reads 220 degrees in the boiling water, then you will only heat the fudge mixture until the thermometer reads 245 degrees F).

As soon as the fudge mixture reaches 237 degrees F, immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture without scraping the sides of the pan into a large mixing bowl, then drop the butter in on top of the fudge mixture in the mixing bowl. Do NOT stir the butter in (or stir at all), just let everything sit there in the pan with the thermometer in it, cooling down until it reaches 105 degrees F (or whatever the equivalent reading on your thermometer for 105 degrees F). This can take anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple of hours, depending on the size of your mixing bowl and how much heat it retains.

While the fudge is cooling, line a bread/meatloaf pan with parchment paper (making sure the paper comes up and over the 2 widest sides) and spray very lightly with non-stick cooking spray.

Once the fudge reaches 105 F, add in the vanilla bean paste, then beat the fudge using an electric hand mixer, increasing speed as fudge thickens, beating for about 3-4 minutes total, until it turns closer to a cream/white color. You can use a wooden spoon and beat by hand, but I have no idea how long it would take (probably a very long time) to get it to the consistency it needs to be. The mixture is going to be very thick and you need a pretty serious business mixer to handle it. It needs to be beat really well though in order for it to end up at the right consistency.

Once the fudge is a light cream color, immediately transfer it to the parchment-lined loaf pan.

Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. *Note: The longer you leave it to chill, the easier it will be to cut.*

Cut the fudge while cold, ideally running the knife under hot water and wiping it dry after each cut. (this helps create nice, clean cuts for more presentable fudge) When done properly, this fudge hardens up yet melts in your mouth when you eat it. Due to the hard texture, the fudge can crumble a bit while cutting, so you have to press straight down with the knife and cut carefully. I don't mind the bits that crumble off though, those are what I keep for myself! If you don't beat the fudge enough, it will not end up firming up as much, though will still be delicious (and you shouldn't have the issues with crumbling while cutting it up)