Monday, January 31, 2011

Greenfly Cocktail



Here's another gem from the classic British titles, Approved Cocktails Authorized by the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild (1934) and Cafe Royal Cocktail Book (1937). 

(Somewhat) interestingly, there seems to be a popular "shooter" recipe with the "Greenfly" name that includes vodka, white creme de menthe, and green creme de menthe.

This "Greenfly" however is no frat-boy sideshow, but rather a shaken beauty calling for London dry gin, lemon juice and green Chartreuse.

The original printed versions looked like this:

from  Approved Cocktails Authorized by the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild (1934)

from Cafe Royal Cocktail Book (1937)

My adaptation:

THE GREENFLY

2 ounces (60 ml) London Dry Gin
1/2 ounce (15 ml) Lemon Juice (always fresh of course)
1/2 ounce (15 ml) green Chartreuse
1 dash Gum syrup (such as from "Small Hands Foods")

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

This is very dry cocktail, my first reaction was that possibly upping from a "dash" to a "dollop" of gum syrup may be in order for my own preferences, but then again, as I get ready to record my tasting notes, I find the drink almost gone!

If you like drinks with gin and chartreuse, this mix is a nice spin on the usual suspects. It's much lighter and drier than any of the "word" cocktails (i.e. Last Word, Final Word, Pete's Word etc.). While this cocktail allows the gin to be heard, it's mostly about the green Chartreuse, which is very well presented in the balance.

If you are a fan of the "sour" family of drinks, enjoy gin, and are at the very least acquainted with Chartreuse, then this should be one to try. 

I can imagine this to be quite the refresher on a hot day. Even in the middle of a Colorado blizzard, which we are having here in Boulder right now, it's very nice.



Sunday, January 30, 2011

The Crescent Cocktail



This appears to be a recipe from an anonymous member of the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild (UKBG).

[Update February 1, 2011 - This appears first in Straub's 1914 classic "Drinks", explaining it's anonymous appearance in the UKBG's "Approved Drinks"]

In 1934, the book "Approved Cocktails Authorized by the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild" enjoyed a single printing. It's authors were listed as the senior members of the guild, including one "Harry Craddock" (author of Savoy Cocktail book), who appears listed as the guild president. Harry helped form (and also left) the guild in 1934.

Listed in the "council" was one "B. Tarling", and from the introduction to his update of the book, he appears to have done much of the work in creating it.

"Billy" Tarling changed his moniker to "W.J. Tarling" between 1934 and the publication of "Cafe Royal" in 1937, when he re-released the content of "Approved Cocktails Authorized by the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild" under the name "Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, Coronation Edition".

In this second release, the book sees the addition of a lengthy preface and numerous illustrations as well as additional recipes. The proceeds are stated to benefit the "United Kingdom Bartenders Guild Sickness Fund" and the "Café Royal Sports Club Fund".

Where the guild publication was mainly aimed at the trade, this new book was aimed at the consumer. The content was also made more user friendly by changing the recipe ratio descriptions from clunky percentages like "33 1/3 %" to fractions like "1/3".

Many cocktail recipes appear in this content that were years ahead of their time. The use of tropical fruits, bright colors, tequila, fernet branca, and many other ingredients that would become the calling cards of late twentieth century mixology, is remarkable.

Here's a hidden gem that seems to appear only in these books, enjoy.

From Approved Cocktails Authorized by the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild (1934)



From Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, Coronation Edition (1937)




And of course, my adaptation:




The Crescent


1 ounce (30 ml) Amer Picon
1 ounce (30 ml) Pent e Mes sweet vermouth
1 ounce (30 ml) Bourbon 
1 tsp.  (5 ml) Raspberry Syrup


Stir well with ice, strain into a cocktail glass. 


For the bourbon, go with something in the "Rick and Oaky" flavor camp like "Eagle Rare 10".

I wanted to crisper, drier flavor of the "Punt e Mes" over the "Carpano Antica" sweet vermouth to balance out the sweet flavors from the Aper Picon and raspberry syrup.

The raspberry syrup and Amer Picon together made for some very "jammy" flavors, which the blend of Punt e Mes and Eagle Rare 10 balanced out well.

This is a sweet "Manhattan" style drink, and which would make a nice substitute for port wine when paring with foods.


Friday, January 28, 2011

Rum Hound

I found this one in the "Big Bartender's Bible" from Mud Puddle books. It was created by Jim Schwenck and published in 1930 in the rather oddly named release, The Home Bartender's Guide & Song Book.




Rum Hound

1 1/2 ounces (45 ml) Jamaica dark rum
1 1/2 ounces (45 ml) Cointreau
3/4 ounce (22 ml) lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.


The rum hound is a nice rum "sidecar" variation. I thought that there might be too much Cointreau in this recipe, but it was just right. This is a recipe that someone obviously took some time in balancing out.

Some drinks are good because you can still get sense of all the individual players and no one flavor is stomping over another - a perfect balance.

Other drinks are great because the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts, something new and wondrous born from the perfect blending of ingredients.

The rum hound seems to fit into the latter category. The Smith & Cross is fantastic here and would be hard to beat as a match for the Cointreau...and who knew there was this kind of orange flavor to be brought out from Cointreau?




The Home Bartender's Guide and Song Book (1930) By Charlie Roe & Jim Schwenck


Tipperary

...these are a few of my favorite things...




Tipperary Cocktail


1 ounce (30 ml) Irish whiskey
3/4 ounce (22 ml) Chartreuse green
3/4 ounce (22 ml) sweet vermouth

Stir well with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.


Red Breast Irish Whisky, Chartreuse green and Carpano Antica. Enough said. Enjoy


Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Deansgate Cocktail



A fairly anonymous creation which is known mainly as a traditional Scottish drink, the Deansgate is most likely named after the area of Deansgate in Manchester, England, which was once a very important trading center in the region.

[Update, January 31st, 2011: While it is absent from the 1934 edition of "Approved Drinks authorized by the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild", the "Deansgate" shows up in the 1937 edition that was published as the "Cafe Royal Cocktail Book", and the recipe calls for "Rose's Lime Juice".

Here, it is attributed to one "J.E. (Ted) Player". What's not clear, is if the recipe was created by "Ted", or if the Rose's lime was his twist on an older, traditional recipe.

Here's how the 1937 recipe appeared:


Anyone have any further info on this one supporting it's existence prior to 1937? Would love to hear!]

The Deansgate is basically a "Drambuie sour", with the Drambuie's honey providing all the sweet and it's herbs providing the extra "je ne sais quoi". Seriously...if you put this drink in front of me and asked me to name the ingredients I would be hard pressed to find the Drambuie.

It's as if Drambuie was a concentrate, and the rum and lime juice dilute it to the point of perfect balance, making the normally thick and even unctuous Drambuie, into an ethereal pleasure. The honey is sweet but not cloying, the scotch very mild if describable at all, and the herbs bring a light, floral playfulness into the normally crisp,dry...even sterile world of the light daiquiri.

The traditional recipe goes "One measure of Drambuie, one measure of lime juice and two measures of white rum."

So in other words...



The Deansgate


1.5 ounces (45 ml) light rum (like Havana blanco or El Dorado 3)
3/4 ounce (22 ml) Drambuie
3/4 ounce (22 ml) lime juice


Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.



Monday, January 24, 2011

Blue Collar Cocktail


Lots of fancy egg drinks this month. Time to roll up the sleeves and get back to work with something a little more appropriate for a "Monday".

The blue collar was one of my first "new" favorites, and still a favorite "modern" recipe of mine. It is dark and stirred, but the orange flavors from the bitters and Amaro Cio Ciaro, along with the cherry from the Maraschino and subtle florals from the moderate amount of carpano, really lighten this drink up to something more in the "medium and stirred" range. It seems to me almost more like a sweet martini than a rye based cocktail.

The "Blue Collar" was created by Michael Madrusan, when he was working at "Milk and Honey" in New York City. Michael was also a well known bartender at "Little Branch", before moving to Australia a little over a year ago. (Michael will soon be opening a new bar called "Everleigh" in Melbourne...if you find yourself in Melbourne, look it up!)

THE BLUE COLLAR


2 ounces (60 ml) Sazarac Rye
1/2 ounce (15 ml) Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
3/8 ounce (11ml) Maraschino Liqueur
3/8 ounce (11 ml) Amaro Cio Ciaro
1 dash Orange Bitters


Stir and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

London Cocktail


This recipe is from Hugo R. Ensslin's "Recipes for Mixed Drinks" (1917).

Another recipe in the "flip" family, this one with Rye whiskey, Orgeat, and orange flower water.

Hugo's recipe:

London Cocktail


1 jigger Rye Whiskey
3/4 jigger Orgeat syrup
2 dashes Orange Flower Water
1 Egg


Shake well in a mixing glass with crushed ice, strain and serve with nutmeg on top.

My adaptation

London Flip


2 ounces (60 ml) Rittenhouse Rye
1 ounce (30 ml) Trader Tiki Orgeat syrup
1/8 ounce (4 ml) Orange Flower Water
1 fresh laid egg


Shake ingredients once without ice, then once with. Strain into a Collins glass. Grate fresh nutmeg over top.

Hugo actually calls for 1.5 ounces (45 ml) Orgeat, but I toned it down to a more sensible one ounce. If you want a sweeter flip, go for the full measure. The orgeat/orange flower water combo is nice, not overpowering at all. It provides a nice balance for the 100 proof rye making it seem more like an 80 proof brandy. I haven't tried this with the Wild Turkey 101 Rye yet but I imagine it would also be good here.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Fannie Ward Cocktail




Here's a third drink from "The Ideal Bartender" (1917) written by Thomas Bullock. Before I get into the drink though, a bit about it's author.

The Ideal Bartender is the first cocktail book to be written by an African-American. (An original copy recently sold on ebay for more than $2500, but you can find it on Google books for free).

[graphic]
Thomas Bullock (1873-1964) author of "The Ideal Bartender"
He worked for over 25 years at the very exclusive "St. Louis Country Club", and made drinks for the social elite and their visiting guests.

By way of introduction to the man and his book, the following appears on page 3:

 "A testimonial from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch which appeared in the form of an editorial, Wednesday evening, May 28, 1913, at a time when Col. Roosevelt was vindicating, by a libel suit, his reputation for sobriety and temperance.

Colonel Roosevelt's fatal admission that he drank just a part of one julep at the St. Louis Country Club will come vегу near losing his case.

Who was ever known to drink just a part of one of Tom's? Tom, than whom there is no greater mixologist of any race, color or condition of servitude, was taught the art of the julep by no less than Marse Lilburn G. McNair, the father of the julep. In fact, the very cup that Col. Roosevelt drank it from belonged to Governor McNair, the first Governor of Missouri, the great-grandfather of Marse Lilburn and the greatgreat-grandfather of the julep.

As is well known, the Country Club mint originally sprang on the slopes of Parnassus and was transplanted thence to the bosky banks of Culpeper Creek, Gaines County, Ky., and thence to our own environs; while the classic distillation with which Tom mingles it to produce his chief d'oeuvre is the oft-quoted liquefied soul of a Southern moonbeam falling aslant the dewy elopes of the Cumberland Mountains.

To believe that a red-blooded man, and a true Colonel at that, ever stopped with just a part of one of those refreshments which have made St. Louis hospitality proverbial and become one of our most distinctive genre institutions, is to strain credulity too far. Are the Colonel's powers of self restraint altogether transcendent? Have we found the living superman at last?

When the Colonel says that he consumed just a part of one he doubtless meant that he did not swallow the mint itself, munch the ice and devour the very cup."

By the way, the "Colonel" was Theodore Roosevelt, who was more commonly addressed as "Colonel Roosevelt" in the years after he left the White House in 1909 until his death in 1919.




Fannie Ward, for whom the drink in this post was named, was an early star of the stage and silver screen. She was known for her comedic roles and in 1915 appeared in Cecil B. Demille's sex-charged film, The Cheat.

The drink named in her honor appears in Tom's book as follows:


FANNIE WARD 

Use a large Mixing glass with Lump Ice.
White of an Egg.
Juice 1/2 Lime.
2 dashes imported Grenadine.
1 jigger Bacardi Rum.


Shake and strain into Cocktail glass.




My adaptation...

FANNIE WARD 

2 ounces (60 ml) white rum.
3/4 ounce (22 ml) lime juice.
1/4 ounce (7.5 ml) Grenadine. 

White of an Egg.


Shake ingredients once with ice, once without, and strain into Cocktail glass.

This is indeed a very tasty beverage. As you'd expect from the ingredients, this is light, sweet, tart and airy. Not unlike descriptions of Fannie herself.






Friday, January 21, 2011

Cooperstown Cocktail



Here's another from Mr. Bullock's (never mind his name) book "The Ideal Bartender" (1917), the Cooperstown. Using "Old Tom" gin, which is sweeter than "London Dry", and Italian (sweet) Vermouth and shaken with mint, this is basically a mint flavored sweet martini.

COOPERSTOWN COCKTAIL

Use a large Bar glass.
Fill with Lump Ice.
One jigger of Sir Robert Burnette's Old Tom Gin.
1/2 pony of Italian Vermouth.
Six leaves of fresh Mint.
Shake Ingredients well together.
Strain and serve in a Cocktail glass.


So, the modern adoptation is:




Cooperstown Cocktail


2 ounces (60 ml) Old Tom Gin (I used Hayman's)
1 ounce (30 ml) Italian Vermouth (I used Punt e Mes)
Six leaves of fresh mint


Shake and double strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with lemon twist.

I must say, "like at first sip" but less than half way through this drink I was in love with it. A nice, clean, slightly-sweet-but-still-dry drink with the deep dark notes from the Punt e Mes countering the sweet gin nicely.

The fresh mint is amazing, there, but only in the background. Punt e Mes is a fantastic vermouth in the right drink, but can be a bit cloying or heavy in the wrong mix. The mint with the Punt e Mes was a perfect match, and I'm sure to use this trick in a future "Lab" drink of my own.

Note on the double straining; a good hard shake will pulverize the fresh mint, which is great, but double strain with a fine-mesh strainer if you want a nice, clean drink.


Footnote:

A few more "Cooperstown" recipes that were brought to my attention:

1916-17 Hugo R. Ennslin

1/3 El Bart Gin
1/3 French Vermouth
1/3 Italian Vermouth
Sprig Fresh Mint

Shake well in a mixing glass with cracked ice, strain and serve.


1922 Robert Vermeire's "Cocktails how to mix them"

Cooperstown Cocktail.

   The Cooperstown is a Martini Cocktail shaken up with 2 sprigs of fresh mint.
   This drink is very popular amongst the cowboys in America. The recipe was given to me by a well-known member of the Peerage who lived amongst them for some time.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Twilight Cocktail



I found this gem in Thomas Bullock's 1917 book, "The ideal bartender". Tom worked at the St. Louis Country Club for 25 years as was very highly regarded in the area. 

His book was dedicated "To those who enjoy snug club rooms, that they may learn the art of preparing for themselves what is good."

Here's the "Twilight Cocktail".



TWILIGHT COCKTAIL (Thomas Bullock, 1917)

Use a large Mixing glass with Lump Ice.
1 jigger Bourbon.
½ pony Italian Vermouth.
Juice of whole Lime.

Shake well; strain into a Champagne glass; fill with Seltzer and serve.

My adaptation:

TWILIGHT COCKTAIL

2 ounces (60 ml) bourbon
1 ounce (30 ml) Italian (sweet) vermouth
1 ounce (30 ml) lime juice
sparkling water

Shake well and strain into a flute champagne glass, fill with sparkling mineral water, garnish with orange twist.


This one certainly tastes much better than it looks! It's basically a Manhattan sour, and not exactly what I would call a beginner drink. If you enjoy your Manhattans and the sour family on their own, this should be worth a try.

I went with a bold 107 proof bourbon in the "Old Rip Van Winkle 107" to go with the sweet Carpano Antica vermouth and sour lime juice. This is a dry drink to be sure, but somehow refreshing. At twilight, after a hot day on the links this would indeed be a welcome libation.

This drink was in honor of the spectacular twilight in Boulder this evening.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

A couple of cocktail myths.

Charles Montgomery Skinner (1852 – 1907) was an American writer who published works on myths, legends and folklore around the world.

1898 - From "Myths and Legends beyond our borders"

THE MISCHIEVOUS COCKTAIL

NEW World drinks are a grateful astonishment to visiting foreigners, and a matter of joyful pride among the natives, for the performances of our bar-tenders have been studied by French, Germans, and English without avail, the strong or sodden fluids sold over the so-called "American bars" in Europe being a reflection on American art. Among these various beverages none is more popular than the cocktail: a gulp of liquor in a cold glass, with a dash of bitters and syrup, a drop of lemon, and a garnish of fruit; and it is said to be quite pleasant. In their names our various inventions are stimulative of curiosity, though stone fence, Tom Collins, high ball, whiskey rickey, gin sling, silver fizz, whiskey skin, whiskey daisy, cobbler, smash, and royal punch are more apt to excite apprehension than thirst among the uninitiated. Cocktail, especially, is a term that has not received the amount of study that was its due among philologists and historians, though lame attempts are made to account for it on the score that physicians used to anoint the sore throats and swollen tonsils of their patients with a cock's feather that had been dipped into healing lotions, —an operation that explains the Colorado terms "throat paint" and "tonsil varnish" as applied to whiskey, but that brings us no nearer to the origin of cocktail, it being a mere and obvious guess that gargles succeeded the feather applications, that doses succeeded the gargles, and that drinks succeeded the doses. Another ineffective tradition is that in the sixties sprigs of mint, used in the preparation of mint-juleps, were called cocktails, because they had not the slightest resemblance to any kind of tails, and are not used in cocktails anyhow.

No: the true tale of the cocktail antedates Columbus. It has to do with the Toltecs in the eleventh century. In Mexico the common drink is pulque, a poor beer made from the sap of the maguey plant. The exhilarating possibilities of this juice were discovered by a native of Tula, who was either a nobleman at the time or was ennobled for his service to the race. Finding pulque to be a good thing, from the Mexican point of taste, he sent his daughter, The Flower of Tula, to the emperor with samples. His majesty having consumed a couple of quarts of the beverage was vastly comforted, and, being in a mood to do good, he offered to let the nobleman's daughter be one of his wives. His offer having been suddenly accepted, for royal offers of this kind are never refused, he declared that the drink was fine enough to perpetuate in its name the beauties and graces of the demoiselle who had been his Hebe, and he called it, after her, Xochitl. Moreover, he started an inebriate asylum of his own, and kept his imperial skin well filled with the mysterious juice, thus offering an example to other kings, who are frequently in debt for their cheer.

The head wife of the king, who regarded this new-comer in the harem with sharp disfavor, was reminded that she had never invented a drink, and that silence was becoming to women. In time the inheritor of the kingdom was to be declared, and the choice fell, not on the son of the older wife, but on that of Xochitl. The family disturbance that began then led to faction fighting and the final disruption and downfall of the Toltec dynasty, though the Aztecs continued the brewing industry, and they keep on making pulque and the worse mescal in Tula to this day. People in Mexico and on the edge thereof worried along with the name of Xochitl for the insidious destroyer for years and years, for they had not gumption enough even to use an easy word, unless somebody showed them how. Somebody did. It was the United States army. It went to Mexico, conquered it, found it warm work, acquired a thirst, was served with xochitl, couldn't say it, though it could drink it, called it cocktail, and there you are.

1903 - THE VIRGINIA COCKTAIL (From American Myths and Legends by Charles Montgomery Skinner)

"WHILE Mexico has its cocktail legend, and while we know that the Dutch in America used to prelude their meals with a "haanstart" of gin and bitters, Virginia enters the lists with a counter-claim for the national beverage, and would feel hurt, indeed, if the award went to the Aztecs or the Knickerbockers. Her allegation takes this form: A comfortable tavern once stood and thrived near Culpeper Courthouse, in the Old Dominion, and exploited the sign of the " Cock and Bottle," the cock lustilycrowing the merits of the bottle. There was a certain play on words in this combination, too, for in those days the name cock was commonly applied to the tap, and it fell about by an easy use that the unfortunate who got the last drink or tail of the liquor had the cocktail. A certain doughty colonel of Culpeper went to the hostelry one day to slake for an instant the burnings of a perennial and joyous thirst. Great was his disgust when he was served out of the muddy tailings of the cask. He flung the liquor on the floor and threw the bar-tender out of the place with the sarcastic remark that if an honored customer was to be served with such leavings, he would drink nothing but cocktails of his own mixing. In a frenzy that he supposed to be due to craving, but that his disciples allege to have been genius or inspiration, he caught up a bottle containing gin and emptied half a glass of it, recklessly tossing in sugar, lemon peel, bitters, and a spoonful of vermouth, stirred a bit of ice with the mixture, and quaffed it at a gulp. And behold, the sorrow was gone out of his heart, and he kept no hatred for the bartender any longer. He had invented a cocktail that would go down to posterity, and down posterity's throat, and life was once more filled with sunshine and alcohol."

Friday, January 14, 2011

The Flip




Mixology Monday January 17, 2011
This is my first MxMo so pardon the lengthy post, if you poke around my site you'll find several more long posts on drinks and their histories.

My original recipe, the "Mountain Flip", which is made with Stranahan's, Averna and Chartreuse yellow, is at the very bottom if you want to skip ahead.



Earlier this month I wrote about eggnog or "Egg Nogg" as it was sometimes written. Like eggnog, the "Flip" is more of a class of drinks, with many variations rather than being a singular recipe. The term "Flip" was first used in 1695, to describe a mixture of beer, rum and sugar, which was heated with a red-hot iron.

Both drinks are defined as being made from spirits, eggs, sugar and spice - the only difference being that eggnog adds milk or cream.

When researching the flip I came across an earlier version of the chart presented by "Dr. Rush" in 1813, which I had used in the eggnog post to illustrate it's status as a drink of ill repute.

The chart below was first published by Dr. John Coakley Lettsom in 1789, for the benefit of the "Philanthropic Society", and was seemingly the inspiration for Dr. Rush's chart.

I then found in "Gentleman's Magazine", reference that Lettsom's list here was "derived from (hints from) his friend, Dr. Rush"....so the men appear to have been acquainted and may have worked on this together.
Here's the earlier list published by Lettsom.




FLIP RECIPES THROUGH TIME

1792 - An earlier American recipe for the Flip, from a book titled "The American Geography" by Jedidiah Morse. While describing the amount of rum produced in New England the previous year, the Flip recipe was added as a footnote.

No less than 4783 hogsheads of New England rum were distilled and exported from this state last year, besides the home consumption, which was not inconsiderable *

* New England rum is distilled from molasses imported from the West Indies. It may be a question worthy of consideration, whether the molasses, which is annually distilled in New England, by being mixed with water, would not afford a drink cheaper, more palatable, and more nourishing, than that which is made from the rum distilled from it, and treble in quantity? If so, all the labour and expense of distillation might be spared, and converted to more useful, and perhaps to more lucrative manufacture or agricultural purposes. New England rum is by no means a wholesome liquor. Dr. Douglass has asserted, "That it has killed more Indians than their wars and sickness. It does not spare white people, especially when made into flip, which is rum mixed with small beer and Muscovado sugar." 


Further historical recipes included (among may others, this is by no means a complete list):

1801 - "American herbal; or, Materia medica" by Samuel Stearns:

This kind of liquor is made by putting a spoonful of brown sugar into about five or six jills (sic/gills) of malt beer, which is then warmed by putting a hot iron into it, called a logger-head ; afterwards, half a pint of rum or brandy is added, and the mixture well stirred with a spoon. Then a little nutmeg is grated on the top, which makes the flip fit for (y)ule.

This quantity is enough for four men....Flip is also made with spruce beer, instead of malt, and then it is called callabogus.


1810 - "Critical pronouncing dictionary" by John Walker, the Flip is defined simply as a "drink made of beer and rum".

1822 - "The Cook's Oracle" by William Kitchiner, we are given this recipe for the flip, which would be reprinted, nearly word-for-word, in several publications over the next 20-30 years:

"Keep grated Ginger and Nutmeg with a little fine dried Lemon Peel rubbed together in a mortar. To make a quart of Flip: - Put the Ale on the fire to warm, - and beat up three or four Eggs with four ounces of moist Sugar, a teaspoonful of grated Nutmeg or Ginger, and a quartern of good old Rum, or Brandy. When the Ale is near to boil, put it into one pitcher, and the Rum and Eggs, &c. into another ; turn it from one pitcher to another till it is as smooth as Cream.

This recipe remains the standard until the 1850's when new variations start to appear in print. 

In 1855, Peterson's magazine published this recipe:

Egg Flip.—Beat up in a three-pint jug four newlaid eggs, omitting two of the whites; add six large lumps of sugar and rub these well into eggs; pour in boiling water about half a pint at a time; and when the jug is nearly full, add two tumblers of brandy and one of rum. 

1858 - Lewis Feuchtwanger in his book "Fermented Liquors" gives another hot Flip recipe:

Flip.—To 1/3 of a gallon of white beer (Berlin), add 1/4 of a pound of sugar, 1 drachm of fine cinnamon, a few cloves, a little ginger, 1 pint of Jamaica rum, and 4 eggs, the yellow of which is muddled. The beer, spices, yellow of the eggs, and rum are heated and well stirred together; they are then added to the first and drank hot.

1862 - Jerry Thomas's original 1862 collection of flip recipes, though extensive, did not include any "cold flip" recipes. Organized by Jerry into a chapter entitled "Flip, Negus and Shrub" he included recipes for "Rum Flip" (2 versions), Ale Flip, Egg Flip (2 versions), and a Brandy Flip.


In the 1882 reprint there appeared the addition of Cold flip recipes for Brandy, Rum, Gin, Whiskey and Port Wine.

I've included his hot and cold recipes for the "Rum Flip":



145.

—Which Dibdin has immortalized as the favorite beverage of sailors (although we believe they seldom indulge in it) —is made by adding a gill of rum to the beer, or substituting rum and water, when malt liquor cannot be procured. The essential in "flips" of all sorts is, to produce the smoothness by repeated pouring back and for ward between two vessels, and beating up the eggs well in the first instance; the sweetening and spices according to taste.

146. Rum Flip.
(Another method.)
Keep grated ginger and nutmeg with a little fine dried lemon peel, rubbed together in a mortar.
To make a quart of flip:—Put the ale on the fire to warm, and beat up three or four eggs with four ounces of moist sugar, a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg or ginger, and a gill of good old rum or brandy. When the ale is near to boil, put it into one pitcher, and the rum and eggs, &c., into another; turn it from one pitcher to another till it is as smooth as cream.



Cold Rum Flip. (From 1882 re-release)

(Use large bar-glass.)
Take 1 teaspoonful of powdered sugar, dissolved in
a little water.
1 wine-glass of Jamaica rum.
1 fresh egg.
2 or 3 lumps of ice.

Shake up thoroughly, strain in a medium glass, and
grate a little nutmeg on top.


1882 also saw the first release of Harry Johnson's "New and Improved (Illustrated) Bartender's Manual" which included a Brandy Flip, Claret Flip, Port Wine Flip and Sherry Flip. I guess he had a thing for wine-based flips. His Brandy Flip was described thus:

Brandy Flip
(Use a large bar glass.)
1 fresh egg;
3/4 tablespoonful of sugar;
3/4 glass of shaved ice
1 wine glass full of brandy(Martell);


Shake the above ingredients well in a shaker, strain into a flip or other fancy bar glass, and grate a little nutmeg on top, and serve.


1884 - "Modern Bartender's Guide" by B.O. Byron lists all chilled flip recipes including the Brandy, Gin, Glasgow, Port Wine, Sherry and Whiskey flips.


1895 - George Kappeler's  "Modern American Drinks" does away with the hot flip altogether and lists a dozen flip recipes, all iced:

Ale Flip.

Beat up one egg with half a tablespoonful fine sugar, then fill the glass with ale; mix well with the egg and sugar. Grate nutmeg on top and serve.

Brandy Flip.

A mixing-glass half-full fine ice, one tablespoonful fine sugar, one fresh egg, one jigger brandy; shake well, strain into thin glass. Grate nutmeg on top.

Egg Flip.

One fresh egg, one tablespoonful fine sugar, one jigger sherry in a mixing-glass half-full fine ice; shake well, strain into thin glass, grate nutmeg on top.

Gin Flip.

Prepare in the same manner as Egg Flip, substituting Tom gin for sherry.

Glasgow Flip.

Beat up a fresh egg with one tablespoonful fine sugar and the juice of one lemon. Put this preparation in a long thin glass, add a lump of ice, fill up with a cold bottle of imported ginger ale; mix well. Serve.

Golden Flip.

One pony maraschino, one pony yellow chartreuse, half a tablespoonful fine sugar, one egg; shake well in a mixing-glass half-full fine ice, strain into a fancy bar-glass, grate a little nutmeg on top.

Jamaica Rum Flip.

Fill a mixing-glass half-full fine ice, add half a tablespoonful fine sugar, one egg, one jigger Jamaica rum; shake well, strain into a fancy barglass. Serve with a little grated nutmeg on top.

Port Wine Flip.

Prepare in the same manner as Jamaica Rum Flip, substituting port wine for rum.

Rum Flip.

Prepare same as Sherry Flip, using the kind of rum desired by the customer in place of sherry.

Sherry Flip.

Break a fresh egg into a mixing-glass; add one tablespoonful fine sugar, fill the glass half-full of fine ice, add one and a half jigger of sherry; shake well, strain into a fancy bar-glass. Serve with a little grated nutmeg on top.

Whiskey Flip.

Prepare in the same manner as Sherry Flip, substituting whiskey for sherry.

Yankee Flip.

Prepare in the same manner as Sherry Flip, using one jigger apple brandy in place of sherry.

(I must say, a very tasty sounding list..)


1889 - Charles Henry Cook in "Curiosities of ale and beer", describes a hot flip recipe, which by then had become something of a relic.

Flip, once a popular drink, and not altogether without its patrons in the present day, is made in a variety of ways. The following receipt is a good one. Place in a saucepan one quart of strong ale together with lumps of sugar which have been well rubbed over the rind of a lemon, and a small piece of cinnamon. Take the mixture off the fire when boiling and add one glass of cold ale. Have ready in a jug the yolks of six or eight eggs well beaten up with powdered sugar and grated nutmeg. Pour the hot ale from the saucepan on to the eggs, stirring them while so doing. Have another jug at hand and pour the mixture as swiftly as possible from one vessel to the other until a white froth appears, when the flip is ready. One or two wine glasses of gin or rum are often added. This beverage made without spirits is sometimes called Egg-hot, and Sailor's Flipcontains no ale. A quart of Flip is styled in the Cook's Oracle a "Yard of Flannel."


(Side note: The term "Yard of Flannel" has been attributed to the appearance of the liquid when "tossed back and forth from one pitcher to another at arm's length.")

1891 - in William Schmidt's "The Flowing Bowl", the flip is given as a hot recipe, "punch style" of course:

One and a half quarts of beer are heated to boiling, with a stick of cinnamon, a small piece of ginger, two or three cloves, and some lemon-peel; meanwhile mix the yolks of four eggs with a large wineglassful of rum or arrack, two or three tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar, and a small spoonful of corn-starch; add this, while continually stirring, to the beer; pour it a few times from one vessel into another, strain through a sieve, and serve in cups.

So we reach the twentieth century and find that the flip has become an old drink, on it's way out of style, but still "not altogether without its patrons". No longer popularly prescribed to ward off a cold or other sickness, it was now more commonly served cold, and taken whenever the mood struck.

The flip then, was really a drink for the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. By the 1900's it had transformed from a way to ward off the winter cold into a full fledged cocktail, and then by the mid-to-late twentieth century, it had fallen back into obscurity.

1917 - In the last book written by a working bartender in NYC, Hugo R. Ensslin gives some of the best (and strangest..whiskey-peppermint?) advice on the building of a cold flip:



1936 - Frank Meier, of the "Ritz" bar in Paris included this page on Flips in his book "The Artistry of Mixing Drinks".




1948 - David A. Embury, in "The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks" gives these words on the flip:

FLIPS A Flip is any wine or liquor shaken up with sugar and a whole egg. The usual proportions are 1 teaspoonful sugar or sugar syrup, 1 whole egg, and 2 ounces liquor to each drink. Shake with cracked or finely crushed ice and strain into a small Sour or Delmonico glass (about 3 to 4 ounces). Decorate with a dash of nutmeg.


Which sums up the cold flip nicely. 


After all of this, I had to play around with the recipes. For this one though, I stuck with the cold flips. I've heard that Cocktail Kingdom will be producing Blue Blazer mugs before too long...so when those are in I'll play with hot flip recipes. Until then, here are a few cold flip variations that I enjoyed.






Rum Flip

1 ounce (30 ml) Angostura 1919 Rum
1 ounce (30 ml) Smith & Cross Rum
1 fresh laid egg
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
1/4 (1.25 ml) teaspoon water
2 dashes Angostura bitters


(Alternatively you can shake ingredients without ice, then with - this is the old "pre-double shake" style of building an egg drink)


1) Combine bitters, water and powdered sugar at bottom of a shaker and stir until sugar has dissolved.






2) Add one whole (fresh as possible) egg and muddle or stir the yolk to break it up.






3) Fill tumbler 3/4 full with finely cracked or crushed ice.






4) Add the two ounces of rum. 






5) Shake hard for 60-90 seconds, strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with fresh ground nutmeg.





The classic rum flip. The lack of milk or cream provides more room for the spice flavors from the nutmeg and bitters to come through. When combined with the egg's thick silky texture, and the deep flavors of the dark rums, I must say I'm "flipping" out over how good this is. It really is a well balanced drink, providing room for all the flavors to stand both together and alone, which is the hallmark of a great drink recipe.





Using the same method of construction, here are a few more variations:




Yankee Flip

2 ounces (60 ml) Laird's apple brandy.
1 fresh laid egg
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
1/4 (1.25 ml) teaspoon water
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Fresh grated nutmeg on top.



I went with Laird's 7 1/2 year apple brandy here. It's apple flavors came through nicely.
_______________________________________






Mountain Flip (the Lab)

1 ounce (30 ml) Stranahan's "Straight Rocky Mountain Whiskey"
1/2 ounce (15 ml) Averna Amaro
1/2 ounce (15 ml) Chartreuse Yellow
1 fresh laid egg
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
1/4 (1.25 ml) teaspoon water
1 dash Scrappy's Orange bitters
1 dash Elixir Vegetal
Fresh Grated Nutmeg on top.



The Mon Cherry



A light "Manhattan-like" cocktail, on the sweet side of dry. Rittenhouse rye is also very good in this drink, making for an even drier and "nuttier" version.

"the Lab" presents the "Mon Cherry"
(Please pardon my penchant for punny names.)

Mon Cherry

2 oz (60 ml) Four Roses small batch bourbon.
1/2 oz (15 ml) Plymouth sloe gin.
1/4 oz (7.5 ml) Maraschino liqueur.
1/4 oz (7.5 ml) Mozart Dry Chocolate Liquor. (yes liquor, it's a base spirit and not a liqueur)
1 Luxardo Maraschino cherry.
1 dash orange bitters


Stir and strain into a cocktail glass over one Luxardo cherry. Add one dash of orange bitters over top of the strained drink.