Flipping over a New Leaf

How to drink raw eggs without dying. Just don't eat the raw cookie dough.

Ahh, the New Year. In the past I've made New Year's resolutions that tend to restrict - eat less sweets, eat less carbs, watch less TV, be less lazy (ok, maybe that last one is a keeper.) But this year I'm going to open myself up more to new ideas, new challenges, and to judge less.  How does this pertain to cocktails you ask? The Flip. Well....let's back up.

Root Cocktails

Santa was good to me this year and I got the new cocktail book Cocktail Codex, written by the folks at Death & Co. Unlike their previous cocktail book which is organized mostly by base spirits this book talks to the fundamentals by breaking everything out into six root cocktails. I was giddy with excitement as I opened up this codex. Perhaps I was a little cocky in thinking I already had a good base knowledge of the root cocktails. The Old Fashioned (yep, I know that one pretty well), The Martini (thanks to Rind), The Daiquiri (made famous to me by my kitchen renovation), The Sidecar (more familiar with its relative the Margarita), The Whiskey Highball (helped me survive the DC summer).  The Flip...what the Flip?

Coming Clean

Now this is where I must make a confession -- I usually avoid making any cocktail at home with an egg or egg white. The idea of drinking a raw egg kinda turns my stomach. I have visions of an old movie star having a hangover and drinking some sort of horrible concoction with a raw egg and hair of the dog. Or perhaps it's my mother's voice telling me I'll get sick from eating the cookie dough because of the raw eggs. Regardless, I've always been apprehensive of an egg in my cocktail and haven't even tried making anything at home with one. Well, now it's a new year, which deserves a new root cocktail without judgement.

As per the Cocktail Codex the origin of the Flip can be traced back to seventeenth-century England. A hot poker was mentioned, and beer, but now when we talk about the Flip it only has three ingredients - booze, sugar, and egg, and it's served cold.

Can't make a Flip without breaking a few eggs.

The Flip (root recipe from Cocktail Codex)

2 oz.  sherry ( I used Amontillado; however in the book they recommend Oloroso)
1/2 oz.  demerara gum syrup (I just had regular ol' demerara syrup)
1 whole egg
Garnish: Nutmeg

Dry shake all the ingredients, then shake again with ice.  Double strain into a small white wine glass.  Garnish with nutmeg

For Science

Since I had never had a Flip I didn't really know if I made it correctly or what it should taste like. So for science I had to make a Brandy Flip.

Brandy Flip: Pushing our boundaries in 2019.

Brandy Flip

1.5 oz.  Cognac
3/4 oz.  demerara gum syrup (again just using demerara syrup)
1 whole egg
Garnish: Nutmeg

Dry shake all ingredients, then shake again with ice.  Double strain into a chilled coupe.  Garnish with nutmeg.

Out of both of these I preferred the one with sherry. Compared to the Brandy Flip it was less sweet to my taste buds and less alcoholic.  Overall I'm glad I tried something new and got a little added protein in my diet.  Already winning in 2019!

By Nicola