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.

Egg Sour

The whole egg sour recipe in the New York Bartender's Guide is a brandy drink. Go figure. I'm finding that egg and brandy drinks are great if you use Copper and Kings brandy, which is strong and clean tasting. That's useful when the rest of the cocktail is so rich.

The fun thing about a whole egg sour is that it is so rich and creamy as well as tart. This is an egg cocktail lover's drink. Of course freshness of ingredients really counts here. For the drink and the photo I used Andean blue eggs. You can almost see the blue tint of the shell. But a fresh and healthy chicken egg makes a big difference when a raw egg is the main ingredient in a drink.

• 2 oz. brandy (Copper and Kings used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. Cointreau
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• whole egg

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled sour glass. 

Egg Nog (Non-Alcoholic)

For those non-drinkers this holiday season, thank goodness for Egg Nog. The spices and richness go a long way to creating a holiday feel with just simple eggs, sugar and milk. While vanilla and almond extract have some alcohol in them, only a quarter tsp. of each is pretty much a negligible portion.

There's something amazing about a made-to-order Egg Nog, one that makes a single glass with only freshest ingredients. Whipped cream and nutmeg on top seem especially indulgent--which is the point, really.

• 1 whole egg
• 8 oz. milk
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract. 
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• freshly grated nutmeg
• whipped cream

Add one well beaten egg to a shaker with sugar, extracts and milk. Add ice and shake vigorously for a minute. Strain into a mug and sprinkle nutmeg on top. Add a whipped cream top garnish. 

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. 

(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.

Derbey Fizz

There's a few Derby cocktails out there, but I don't think these have anything to do with Kenducky, or else I'd see bourbon in this drink. This whole egg fizz is unique in that it uses scotch and doesn't just ask for the egg white. I chose a kolsh glass simply because I needed the space for all the ingredients, and that whole egg was pretty big.

The effect of this cocktail is a silky and fizzy taste that pairs peaty scotch and triple sec very well. It is definitely a dessert drink, but the lemon and triple sec keep it light and easy to sip.

I'm not going to recommend doing this cocktail over other fizzes, but as a member of the fizz category, I think it is valuable and proves the point that eggs are important in changing the texture of a cocktail, even a fizzy one. A whole egg changes the color as well, and gives a drink a thickness that cream cannot match, especially when mixed with lemon juice.

• 2 oz. scotch
• 1 whole egg
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. triple sec
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• sparkling water

Combine all ingredients except sparkling water in a shaker and shake until foamy. Add ice and shake again to chill. Strain over fresh ice in a highball glass, top with sparkling water and stir.

Pernod Flip

Whoever came up with this drink was either a genius or insane. Yes, you can flip any spirit, but it's more fun to flip something weird like Pernod with its intense anise flavor. This cuts through the creaminess in the way that old world cookies with anise flavor can me sweet and delicate but also spice-assertive.

This recipe calls of orgeat syrup, which I made special for the drink. With proportions, I felt that there's a chance it can become too creamy, so I cut a half ounce off the half-and-half and upped the orgeat component by equally as much. You get a nuttiness and floral aroma that accompanies the nutmeg and anise.

• 2 oz. Pernod
• 1 1/2 oz. half-and-half (use 1 oz.)
• whole egg
• 1/2 oz. orgeat syrup (use 1 oz.)
• ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except nutmeg in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a sour glass. Garnish with nutmeg.

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.