Sailors have a way with words that is unique among peoples. In an era when life hung in the balance for ordinary people on a daily basis, sailors of the medieval era through the age of sail probably had one of the most dangerous occupations in the world, if not the most dangerous. They were at war with the enemy and with the elements. John Paul Jones said, “I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way.” The second part of this quote is apt, because at peace, at war, or just freighting tea or spices, they were everywhere and always, in harm’s way. This week’s cocktail owes to that era of adventure, danger, triumph, and tragedy, along with the flavors it wrought. There is no better quote to sum up the state of things of late. We’re all sailors in the churn of a changing, dangerous world.

Flips are old cocktails originating in the 1600s as a sailor’s drink. Originally, ale, rum, molasses, and eggs were mixed with a “hot poker” (which incidentally is a very Appalachian-sounding tool) until frothy. It was the grand-daughter of eggnog, which stands as one of, if not the, oldest cocktails. It was originally formulated to be served hot or warm, which makes sense for people exposed to the elements aboard 17th-century East Indiamen or a Man o’ War. By the 1800s, the drink had traveled to North America, appearing in Jerry Thomas’ 1887 book, where it was formulated as a mixture of spirits or fortified wine, sugar, and a whole egg, shaken and served up cold.

Flips are flexible drinks - whether one should or not, you can certainly use any spirit or fortified wine for a base. In addition, the sugar is not entirely necessary. Any liqueur provides ample sweetness for a flip in sufficient quantity. The whole egg gives the drink a very different quality to that of egg white alone. Normally, drinks with egg white provide texture and a fluffy head atop the cocktail. A flip, including the egg yolk, adds a level of richness that far surpasses the typical egg white cocktail. Flips can approach a Crème brûlée type character, except with a very pleasing, warming quality from the spirit or fortified wine.

A few weeks ago, I made a Dan Greenbaum riff on the Adonis cocktail. The result of this is that I had a smidge of Banane du Bresil left - enough for a couple of sherry flips. So, I used the banana liqueur as a stand-in for the sugar in the drink. Amontillado sherry was a perfect match here with its quality of roasted pecans or walnuts. I had a bottle of sherry with a bit left from various holiday imbibing sessions. With this in mind, I had a way to finish off a bottle of sherry in a season when I would still appreciate it most. Time to tip one.

Chill your glass thoroughly - the colder the better because it will give the drink better structure to cling and endure several tips, still maintaining its froth and pillowy head. Then, load a shaker tin with all the ingredients sans garnish. Bring the tin together for a dry shake (i.e., without ice). Don’t worry about the calories in this drink as you’ll burn them beforehand during the dry shake, which should be a good 20-30 count. Once dry shaken, load the tin with ice for a normal shake (I like about a 15-17 count). Afterward, fine strain the drink into your glass, sprinkle you banana medallion with coconut sugar, skewer, and garnish the drink. Grate the nutmeg over the drink and enjoy (I’m admittedly a nutmeg fiend and always heavy-handed here). This is a drink Dairy Queen could really get behind.

Glass: Nick and Nora, Coupe, or even a ceramic mug would be great.

Options: The options for evolving this drink are endless and follow straightforwardly from the discussion above. I think we can put some guardrails in place, however. Rather than altering the base spirit altogether, try altering the type of sherry - Manzanilla will leave the drink drier and with a sea-spray note, Oloroso will give a deep oxidized nuttiness to the drink with some dark fruit flavor notes. One could also change the liqueur. To remain in the same spirit as above, look for tropical fruit liqueurs that keep you in the same lane as the above specification - passion fruit, papaya, mango, or passion fruit liqueurs would do well here. As for bitters, molasses bitters or toasted almond bitters would work really well here in place of the chocolate bitters.

One thing that is not optional is the egg yolk. Yes, I’m well aware that there are vegan alternatives to egg yolks. In my opinion, imitating what egg white does for a cocktail with aquafaba is more than possible (I’ve done it on this blog). In that case, we are trying to replicate the texture of the egg whites. Imitating what the yolk does here is far more challenging because it is an equal flavor component in addition to its textural contributions. To my tastes, it changes the nature of the cocktail in terms of flavor (yes, I tried) - to stay on theme, made with vegan egg yolks, the cut of its jib is questionable. That said, if you want to use vegan egg yolks, I’d choose a liqueur that was a bit more savory or had spices - maybe double down on the nuts with Nocino or a liqueur that evokes baking spice. 

This blog is, as always, an opinionated take on drinks.