This selection was inspired by recent talk among the Citizenry about adding maple syrup to coffee. I’d consider this a three-season cocktail, rather than something exclusively autumnal.
Flips are a class of cocktail dating back to the 1600s, though modern versions more closely resemble those of the late 1800s. A cocktail is considered a flip if it involves mixing spirits or fortified wine with a whole egg and a sweetener. Credit for this drink goes to Jeremy Allen, who devised it at Minibar in Los Angeles; I learned of it via Imbibe. My version omits the port, because most folks likely don’t have a bottle in their home bar.
Ingredients
- 2 oz rye whiskey
- 3/4 oz lemon juice
- 1/2 oz Grade B maple syrup
- 1 whole egg
- 3 dashes Angostura bitters
Method
Combine the rye whiskey, lemon juice, maple syrup & egg in a shaker. Dry shake to aerate. Add ice, shake thoroughly to chill. Strain into a coupe. Top with the bitters.
Notes
Make sure you have a good seal on the shaker when mixing eggs. They can get rather frothy, and things could get messy. I did my dry shaking for 10-15 seconds; you can feel the mixture emulsify, which is your cue to move on to the ice. Use a few ice cubes rather than crushed ice to shake this drink. (I haven’t tried mixing this by omitting the dry shake in favor of the whip shake, but it seems like a good candidate.)
While I only had a couple sips last night, I found it to be a little dry and lacking just a bit of depth, perhaps in part because I only had Grade A maple syrup on hand. Still, I’d suggest sticking to the base recipe your first time unless you know you like your cocktails on the sweeter end, in which case, pour your maple syrup with a slightly heavier hand. (My palate may have been a bit off, as I’d just finished a 5k rowing session.)
I didn’t have any rye on hand, so I used bourbon. My disclaimer here is that whiskey and I agreed to see other people twenty years ago. There are a small number of whiskey cocktails I’m willing to drink on rare occasions.
You don’t have to garnish with ground cinnamon or nutmeg — the Angostura bitters should get you those notes — but you could if you’re partial to a little extra.
As for the egg, food retailers have been making significant inroads in poultry vaccination for salmonella thanks to requirements they place on their suppliers. If you are concerned, the FDA recommends eggs with in-shell pasteurization for preparations like Caesar salad dressing that call for raw eggs.
