Flip

Spirit, whole egg, sugar, nutmeg. The richest drink in the cocktail canon.

Defining structure

A flip is spirit, a whole egg (yolk and white), sugar, and grated nutmeg on top — shaken hard with ice until the egg is completely emulsified. The drink is opaque, creamy, and surprisingly light despite the egg. The nutmeg is not optional; it completes the drink's identity. Flips can be built on any spirit: brandy, rum, whiskey, port wine.

History

The flip dates to the 17th century in England, where 'flip' originally meant a heated mixture of beer, rum, and sugar, stirred with a red-hot iron (the 'loggerhead') that caused the drink to foam or 'flip.' By the 19th century the hot-iron method gave way to egg-based flips served cold. Jerry Thomas's 1862 Bartender's Guide contains multiple flip variations. The drink fell out of fashion in the 20th century and has been rediscovered by the craft cocktail movement.

Common riffs

The egg-white-only family (fizzes, silver sours) descends from the flip tradition. The Tom and Jerry — Jerry Thomas's own hot flip — uses whole egg and brandy-and-rum, served hot. The modern 'coffee cocktail' is a flip in disguise (port wine, Cognac, whole egg).