The Flip
Could the humble (yet sometimes) controversial egg have been the precursor for modern day cocktails?
Unlike many classic cocktails the flip has no one individual, date, place or time where it was created, rather its American heritage and evolution from modest beginnings evokes the feeling of finding an old lost friend.
The flip belongs to a family of milk and wine punches, where a British drink called a posset started things off in the 17th century. A posset mixed ale, wine or sack (likened to a sweet sherry) with milk and eggs and was usually served hot, heated with a hot iron poker. It was thought to have some practical medicinal use plus eggs at this time were seen as a valuable food source so consumption was frequent and rampant. During the 1800s in colonial America the wine or beer in the posset soon came to be substituted for spirits, namely brandy or rum. This lead to the evolution of eggnog (spirit, eggs, cream, sugar & spice) a typical holiday drink, most commonly served in batches for large numbers at celebrations. It is from this point the flip started to appear, a recipe not that dissimilar to eggnog though served cold. Most of these original recipes for a flip replaced the wine or brandy with rum, as rum was plentiful in America and cheaper, not facing the heavy taxes that were incurred in importing anything over from Europe. Many present day recipes would argue the use of cream is optional.
The flip is generally seen as the stepping stone from batch produced mixtures in dimly lit American & European taverns to on-site mixing, and with the humble egg playing a pivotal role throughout it is argued that these times could have seen the beginnings of modern day mixing and individual serves. Jerry Thomas’ 1862 book ‘How to Mix Drinks or The Bon-Vivants Companion’ notes the first recipes in print of any flips of sorts, where he features both cold and hot variations utilising ale, brandy, rum, whisky, port and even gin.
A crucial ingredient in producing a flip is the inclusion of citrus juice, usually lemon. This helps to stabilise the valuable proteins in an egg, whether you choose to use the whole egg (my recommendation) or just the white, and in tandem with a dry shake before a full shake with cracked ice, will allow for a longer-lasting foam on the top of your drink. Who knew so much power could be stored beneath the shell of our scrambled little friend….
To this end I present you with the Hibiscus Flip,
1.5oz Tanqueray No ten
1oz fresh lemon juice
3 barspoons of roselle conserve
white of half an egg
barspoon caster sugar
dash of Fee Brothers rhubarb bitters
dry shake, then full shake with cubed ice
dbl-strain into chilled cocktail glass
garnish with lemon twist & hibiscus flower
This was my first attempt at a flip using white spirits, before I’d always used bourbons, dark rums or brandies. I received some samples of a wonderful organic roselle conserve from Malaysia and thought to pair it with some typical English flavours ie. gin and rhubarb. The result is a harmonious balance of sweet and tart, where no other liqueur or such is needed, all the body is given by the conserve.
Hibiscus Flip
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