20. Flips: The Balance – Eggs & Dairy

Online School of Cocktailory  🍸

For drinking #alonetogether 

Section 106: The Flip

I know it seems creepy to drink raw eggs unless you’re trying to be Rocky Balboa, but if it calms your nerves, here’s some stats: salmonella enterica outbreaks are pretty rare, the contaminated brands are recalled & posted by the CDC & FDA, the only US egg issue I saw in 2020 was in Jan. there was a listeria recall on hard boiled packaged eggs, and you’re just as likely to get salmonella food poisoning from cooked eggs with runny yolks, or eating eggs in mayo or cookie dough. It is recommended to buy fresh eggs if you’re going to be eating any parts uncooked, and make sure the shells are clean, not cracked anywhere, and keep eggs refrigerated until use. Ok, I feel better. Let’s get crackin’ lol

Some cocktails like the New York Flip call for just a yolk, which makes for a nice thick fatty emulsifier and a heavy satisfying drink.

Some call for just the white, like the Gin Fizz or Pisco Sour. The foamy egg white is silky and fluffy when shaken, and it calms bitter flavors. Egg whites do have a bit of a funky smell after they’re exposed to the air for a bit, so that’s why fizzes and sours made with egg whites get cute little dots of bitters or Pernod, or a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg on the top to smell nice. Like fancy cocktail deodorant.  

If you want to go super cocktail nerd status, you can enclose your raw eggs in the fridge in an airtight container overnight with aromatic spices, and the egg white will absorb the aroma for your next drink. 

Classic flips use the whole egg to take advantage of both the creamy yolk and the frothy white. Hello, my dear friend eggnog 😍

The cocktail term ‘nog’ actually refers to alcohol with cream added. Although the origin of the term is highly debated online. The trouble with ever getting accurate alcohol history is that the people passing it along for hundreds of years were all typically intoxicated. Regardless of its history, higher fat milks work best in nogs since the added fat makes the drink less likely to curdle when mixed with acid. Fat also holds flavors on your tongue longer, a trademark of a good winter Flip. Drinks with a lot of dairy like a White Russian may use half & half or whole milk instead of cream, which keeps the dairy from overshadowing the rest of the ingredients. 

Dairy alternatives: many people can’t or don’t consume dairy, and higher fat nut milks like almond milk make a decent substitution. Some stores even carry almond milk creamer now, which I’ve tried and it seems fine. I don’t know that I’d use an egg substitute in a cocktail,  but if you try it, tell me how it goes. 

For our experiments this week, I’ll give you some drink options. We did a classic flip last week with a whole egg, so here I’ve got a Silver Fizz with just egg white, a New York Flip with just cream & egg yolk, a White Russian with just cream, and of course delicious Eggnog with all the things. 

-Silver Fizz- 

Dry shake the following ingredients until the eggwhite is frothy,  then shake again with ice to chill:

2 oz. gin

3/4 oz. simple syrup

3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice

1 egg white

– Double strain into a highball glass. Then slowly add:

2 oz. cold seltzer 

– Gently tap the glass on the counter to settle the foam, and a nice white fluff should form on the top. 

-New York Flip-

Dry shake the following ingredients, then shake again with ice:

1 oz. bourbon

3/4 oz. tawny port

1/4 oz. simple syrup

3/4 oz. heavy cream

1 egg yolk

– Double strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with fresh grated nutmeg. 

-White Russian-

Stir on ice: 

1 1/2 oz. vodka

1 oz. coffee liqueur

– Strain into a double old fashioned glass or Irish coffee cup (and add fresh ice if desired). 

– Next, dry shake and then gently spoon on top:

1 oz. half & half

– Garnish with 3 coffee beans resting together on the cream. 

-Classic Eggnog- 

Dry shake the following ingredients, then shake again with ice after the egg has been fully frothed: 

3/4 oz. barrel aged French style rum

3/4 oz. of a VSOP Cognac (for us Very Special Old People, lol) 

1 teaspoon Giffard Vanille de Madagascar 

3/4 cane sugar syrup 

1 oz. heavy cream

1 whole fresh egg

– Double strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass, and garnish with a few zests of cinnamon & nutmeg. 

Happy Holiday Drinking Everyone!