Cocktail & Other Recipes Cocktail Type Coffee & Dessert

Discover the Flip with These 8 Recipes

This classic cocktail style, marked by the use of a whole egg, renders a rich, nightcap-worthy drink.

By
Tyler Zielinski
Tyler Zielinski
Tyler Zielinski
Tyler Zielinski is a freelance writer specializing in cocktails and spirits and a bartender at Lawrence Park in Hudson, NY.
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Published 01/24/22
The Dead Rabbit Coffee Cocktail

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

The flip is a type of cocktail that had mostly disappeared from drink culture by the latter half of the 20th century, but it's as historic as a cocktail can get. The drink first appeared in print in the late 1600s, and has been credited to British sailors—a crew recognized for creating a variety of other cocktails including the Grog, Daiquiri, and so on—who would consume it as a health tonic (which is also how many other cocktails came to be created). The original flip was a mixture of rum, molasses, a whole egg, and warmed ale; but this formula eventually evolved to omit the ale, and it now most commonly involves a spirit or fortified wine such as sherry or port, sugar, and a whole egg.

The inclusion of a whole egg tends to dissuade some drinkers, even many passionate cocktail enthusiasts. But as long as you’re using fresh eggs, you have nothing to fear—especially if you’ve tried eggnog, a more familiar cocktail that also employs a whole egg. All flips require a bit of technique, though, in order to craft one perfectly. To properly emulsify the ingredients, the mixture should first be given a dry shake, without ice. This gets the mixture frothy and allows the egg to be completely integrated. Then the ingredients are shaken with ice to chill and add dilution before serving. 

The flip is decadent, festive, and perfect for enjoying during cold weather. These are a few of the best to try.

  • Gaelic Flip

    Gaelic Flip

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    This Irish whiskey flip by star bartender Charles Joly brings visual appeal as well as thoughtful layers of complementary flavors. Joly uses Irish whiskey (he calls for Bushmills, specifically, but Jameson works well, too), sweet vermouth, allspice liqueur and simple syrup for sweetness and notes of baking spice, and a whole egg. The recipe is straightforward, and it over-delivers on flavor, given its simplicity. When this flip is shaken using the dry shake-wet shake method, the result should be a full-bodied drink with a frothy head, which is then garnished with some fresh nutmeg to finish.

    Get the recipe.

  • Cynar Flip

    Cynar Flip cocktail

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    If there is one type of ingredient that is begging to be mixed in a flip, it’s amaro. Cynar—a type of Italian amaro, or bittersweet liqueur—is featured alongside Canadian whisky in this plush flip created by Jayce Kadyschuk, the head bartender at Clive’s Cocktail Lounge in Victoria, British Columbia. The complex base is paired with a clove syrup, Cointreau, and bitters, yielding a true flavor bomb. The high rye content of the whisky works swimmingly in this cocktail.

    Get the recipe.

  • Great Pumpkin

    great pumpkin flip cocktail in coupe glass

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    This autumnal flip was created by legendary NYC bartender Jim Meehan, and was served at PDT during his tenure with the bar. Meehan’s flip stays true to the cocktail’s original form with the inclusion of beer—in this case, a pumpkin ale. The ale is paired with a bonded rye whiskey, bonded applejack, maple syrup, and a whole egg. If you’re someone who enjoys drinking with the seasons, this is a cracking serve to keep in mind from one of the world’s most noteworthy bartenders.

    Get the recipe.

  • Porto Flip

    Porto Flip

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    This variation on the most classic form of a Porto Flip comes from distiller and bar pro Allen Katz, who changes things up in several ways: using fruity ruby port rather than the usual tawny, swapping out brandy for cognac, adding a splash of heavy cream for extra richness, and finishing the drink with a barspoon of yellow Chartreuse. The adjustments all add up to a seriously upgraded version of the drink.

    Get the recipe.

    Continue to 5 of 8 below.

  • Sunday Flip

    Sunday Flip cocktail

    Henley

    Jon Howard, the head bartender at Henley in Nashville, created the Sunday flip as an homage to his grandfather’s favorite dessert: strawberry shortcake. It’s something he recalls eating on Sundays, and so he wanted to have the flavors in this flip be a liquid manifestation of this nostalgic treat. He uses a bianco vermouth as the base, paired with simple syrup, strawberry vinegar, a lemon peel, and a whole egg. It gets the dry shake-wet shake treatment before being served and garnished with lemon oil and dehydrated strawberries. 

    Get the recipe.

  • The Nose to Cocktail

    Nose to Cocktail

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    Another creation by Meehan, this flip pushes the boundaries of the cocktail style with the addition of citrus juices. It uses bacon-infused Irish whiskey as the base (bacon is no stranger to PDT cocktails; witness the modern classic Benton’s Old Fashioned), which is then complemented with maple syrup, orange and lemon juices, and a whole egg. The citrus adds a welcome acidity to cut through the fat of the egg and bacon-infused whiskey, yielding a bright, fresh flip.

    Get the recipe.

  • Rum Flip

    Rum Flip cocktail

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    Also from Katz, this cocktail is only a half-step away from a holidaytime eggnog, calling for aged rum, heavy cream, granulated sugar, and an egg, topped with freshly grated nutmeg for additional winter-spice notes. It’s a relatively simple combination that renders an especially rich and creamy drink without the extra work of beating the egg’s yolk and whites separately, as most eggnog recipes call for.

    Get the recipe.

  • The Dead Rabbit Coffee Cocktail

    The Dead Rabbit Coffee Cocktail

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    The name of this cocktail is a bit deceiving, as coffee isn’t actually included in the mix. But the shaken mix of Irish whiskey, Irish cream liqueur, vintage port, simple syrup, bitters, and a whole egg, created at leading NYC bar The Dead Rabbit, produces an Irish-leaning twist on a classic Coffee Cocktail, which likewise contained no caffeinated ingredient and was named for its resemblance to a coffee with foamed milk. 

    Get the recipe.