Sloe Gin Flip

This is the most festive-looking Flip I've ever made, and I had a feeling it would be. Sloe gin is a fruity gin made with sloe berry liqueur and gin. It is an old world delight native to Northern Europe and Britain where the berries--much like plums--can be found and added to spirits much like Eastern Europeans do with vodka or rakia.

The Flip is a classic colonial cocktail that is perfect for holiday drinking: it's like a more condensed and potent Eggnog because, unlike Eggnog, Flips aren't mostly milk. Flipping sloe gin is especially pretty with that pink color, but it is even more rewarding to drink. The nose of the cocktail is of nutmeg, and the mouthfeel is creamy like a dessert. But there's a fun fruity finish that comes through when you use sloe gin that you don't get from brandy or whiskey.

• 2 oz. sloe gin (Mr. Boston used)
• 1 oz. half-and-half
• 1 whole egg
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• freshly grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except nutmeg in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill and strain out the ice. Return the liquid to the shaker and shake again (dry shake) for body and pour into a small white wine glass. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Brandy Flip

A flip is a dessert drink that takes any spirit and shakes it up with a whole egg, sugar, and cream and is topped with a sprinkle of nutmeg. The Brandy Flip, by nature of its being a primogenitor of early Industrial Era spirits, is likely to be the first kind of flip--unless you count sherry or porto. Let's say that this drink goes way back to the first mixing of distilled spirits with eggs, sometime in the early 1700s.

• 2 oz. brandy (Copper and Kings used)
• 1 whole egg
• 1 tbsp. half-and-half
• 1 tsp. sugar
• fresh ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except nutmeg in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled sour glass. Garnish with sprinkles of nutmeg.

Coffee Cocktail

This is another one of those misleading cocktails like the Chocolate Cocktail. Both are port and brandy drinks. In this case, I opted for American brandy. The topping of this misleadingly non-caffeinated drink is nutmeg sprinkles, not coffee, and there is no yellow Chartreuse.

What there is, however is an egg yolk. Good for texture and thickness. Don't over-ice this cocktail in the blender. It stands up nicely like a smoothie if you don't. You'll freeze the egg white, however, with too much ice.

• 3 oz. ruby port
• 1 oz. brandy (Christian Brothers VSOP used)
• 2-3 dashes white Curacao
• 1 egg yolk 
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except nutmeg with light ice in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into a chilled wine glass and sprinkle with nutmeg. 

Coffee Flip

If you can "Flip" anything, why not coffee, and port and cognac all at once. That's the idea behind the Coffee Flip. These creamy drinks taste mostly of spirits and nutmeg, but you pretty much only notice the coffee in this one. In fact, the directions produce enough Flip for two glasses, so feel free to use less coffee (2 1/2 oz.) if you are drinking alone.

• 2 oz. cognac
• 1 oz. ruby port
• 5 oz. cold coffee
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 egg
• freshly ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except nutmeg in a blender with ice. Blend until slushy and pour into a chilled wine glass. Dust nutmeg on top. 

Strega Flip

Like the Pernod Flip, this dessert drink proves that you can flip anything. I was surprised that the recipe calls for brandy, but it makes sense. Strega is pretty tart and brandy can smooth it out. Also like the Pernod flip, this drink is especially herbal. There's also a lot of juice for a flip in there. Citrus from the lemon and orange juice and spice notes come through even on the nose from beneath the nutmeg top.

• 2 oz. strega
• 1 oz. brandy
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. sugar syurp
• 1 whole egg
• grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except nutmeg in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a chilled highball glass. Grate nutmeg on top. 

Rye Flip

Go ahead, flip anything. This time let's do rye. Catoctin Creek rye is very mellow and has no smokiness that will ruin a dessert-like drink like a flip. This recipe has no cream in it like some flips do, which is good. You can taste the rye and it's not to heavy with creaminess. This is a great fall and winter drink.

• 2 oz. rye 
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 whole egg
• freshly grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake like crazy to break up the egg. (Note: You may want to strain the liquid into another shaker or other container to remove the ice. Then re-shake the liquid to obtain a large egg foam then pour into the glass.) Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. 

(Irish) Whiskey Flip

While I'm drinking Donegal Irish whiskey, I thought I'd make a Whiskey Flip. I've said before that you can flip anything; meaning you can add an egg, cream and sugar to any spirit, wine, or even non-alcoholic drink like coffee or tea and shake it up into an eggnog.

Whiskey seems to be one of the main choices for a flip because it adds a little vanilla flavor from the barrel aging. Blended whiskey is specified because you don't want something with too much character sticking out and detracting from the dessert-like quality of the drink.

This is thick and and luxurious, the kind of drink you want in the winter: and it is still technically winter, though a warm one. Fresh nutmeg makes it even more of a treat.

• 2 oz. blended whiskey (Donegal Estates used)
• 1 oz. half-and-half
• 1 whole egg
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake until foamy. Add ice and shake to chill. Strain into a sour glass and garnish with grated nutmeg to taste.

Port Wine Flip

An oldie but a goodie! Yes a port cocktail, especially a whole egg flip with nutmeg, is better suited for winter, or at least dessert, but I think it was excellent after a day of colonial-style cocktails. First, it was not overly heavy, as you might expect. There was a lot of interesting nutmeg and nutty flavors from the port, and of course it was deep and darkly fruity. Another bonus is that it was not too strong, so having it at the end of a series of drinks won't set you over the edge. This should be the first flip you try.

• 2 oz. ruby port
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• 1/2 tbsp. half-and-half
• 1 whole egg
• ground nutmeg

Combine port, sugar, half-and-half and egg (beaten) in a shaker. Shake until egg becomes foamy. Add ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or sour glass. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Ramos Fizz

The Ramos Fizz, like all fizz category drinks, involves egg white to get it that amazing white foam. The recipe I looked at in the New York Bartender's Guide would make a pretty disgusting drink, adding the soda and egg white after shaking (which would make for a slimy unshaken fizz). The trick to getting egg white foamy is to shake it with the other ingredients without ice (a dry shake) before adding ice and reshaking (wet shake). Then top with cold soda.

There's some discrepancy about the difference between a fizz and a flip. According to David Wondrich in Imbibe! Flips are egg drinks without soda--low drinks intended to be drunk as a single shot. Fizz drinks aren't supposed to have ice usually. They should also be chilled and served with cold soda after shaking and served in a long (tall) glass the way a Tom Collins should be served. The Ramos Fizz is the tallest of all with ice, cream and 3 ounces of gin. This is why the drink is favored by serious gin drinkers. You can't get it at just any bar because the need for the orange flower water to scent the foam. Be selective when you order one of these Ramos Fizzes, and make it with care if you try it at home.

• 3 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. half-and-half
• 3-5 dashes orange flower water
• 1 egg white
• club soda

Combine all ingredients except soda in a shaker. Shake vigorously to create foam. Add ice and shake again until chilled. Pour into a chilled Collins glass. Add ice if necessary and top with soda.