In colonial America, flip was the beer bong of your average tavern patron, made for massive quaffing and tippling. Drink enough of the stuff and you’re suddenly dressed in a loin cloth and steeping English tea in Boston Harbor.
Herman Melville memorialized the rum, beer and sugar concoction as a menace to ships at sea. Downing flip until you’re “halfway to Concord” is not advised before scaling the rigging to reef the sails.
“Did I say we had flip? Yes, and we flipped it at the rate of ten gallons the hour,” he wrote in the 19th-century version of “Whale Wars.”
Excuses to drink flip were plentiful. Winter was one of the best due to the last step in preparation: plunging a red-hot fireplace poker into the mix to heat it. The name flip came from the subsequently roiling liquid “flipping” into a froth.
Colonists actually used a loggerhead – an iron rod with a large bulbous end – for the flipping and heating. Today’s skinny pokers don’t pack as much heat, but are reliable enough to throw a good hissy flip.
Slice’s “Warm Flip” is based on historical recipes and musters a flip with a smoky, roasted flavor – albeit a little challenging to the post-revolutionary palate.
The “Cold Flip,” however, is similar to a modern tasty eggnog. After all, when European forebears started tossing heavy cream and eggs into flip, that’s what was invented.
Warm Flip
24 oz room-temperature ale
3 T fine sugar
1 t cinnamon
½ c rum
2 eggs
Freshly ground nutmeg
Fresh lemon or orange zest
Position end of poker amid fireplace flames for at least 20 minutes. Combine ale, sugar, cinnamon and rum into wide-mouthed pitcher. Add eggs, whisk thoroughly. Plunge poker into pitcher and hold for 10-15 seconds or until heat extinguished. Dust with nutmeg and zest.
Cold Flip
Cold Flip
1½ oz brandy
1 small egg
1 t superfine sugar
½ oz heavy cream
Ice
Freshly ground nutmeg
Using a martini shaker with strainer, mix all ingredients except nutmeg. Shake extremely well to emulsify egg. Strain into a sour or wine glass. Dust with nutmeg.
Source: “Field Guide to Cocktails”
