The PDT Project: Black Flip

Categorically speaking, a flip is a cocktail in which a whole egg is deployed, the reason being to impart a richness, body, and a silky texture to a drink. Because of how rich these drinks are, they are considered more appropriate during the chillier months (unless you're like a certain photographer for The PDT Project, in which case you enjoy them all year round). The most famous flip is one Americans are quite familiar with during the holidays: Egg Nog.

Historically flips were commonly enjoyed in the mornings as a fortifying bracer (back before Prohibition when Americans really knew how to drink) or after dinner, as a final note to a meal. Nowadays most Americans shudder at the thought of drinking before noon, so the post-prandial enjoyment is the most common.

Inspired by a chapter devoted to flips in Wayne Curtis' fantastically informative book on rum called And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails, Jim Meehan created the Black Flip and first featured it on the PDT menu in the Winter of 2007. It is one of my favorite flips, and one of my favorite PDT cocktails.

Black Flip
2 oz. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
1.5 oz. Cruzan Black Strap Rum
0.5 oz Demerara syrup
1 whole organic egg
fresh grated nutmeg, as garnish

Tools: shaker, strainer, nutmeg grater
Glass: chilled fizz glass

Method: Add ingredients to a mixing glass and swirl around a few times to decarbonate the beer. Dry-shake (meaning without ice) to emulsify the egg, then add ice and shake again. Strain into your glass and grate fresh nutmeg on top.

Be careful when opening up the shaker to add ice, because there's always some residual carbonation that could explode in your face, as has happened to me a few times. Getting a stain made of a mix of egg, beer, and booze off your shirt is not an easy task.

This drink has received glowing praise from many patrons, and perhaps the best description I've heard is when a customer likened it to a boozy chocolate milkshake. Indeed it is. The Brooklyn Black Chocolate stout does great work in this drink, and I suggest looking for it by brand if available. The black strap rum and the Demerara sugar syrup provide that deep, unctuous, caramel-like notes, and the egg adds a nice rich body that truly resembles good thick milshake. Except this version has booze.

*This post is part of a series in which Payman takes on the task of making and writing about every cocktail featured in the PDT Cocktail Book, as well as providing an awesome photo of each drink taken by Vanessa Bahmani Photography.

**Got a question? He can be found on twitter @paystyle, you can email him at payman [at] pdtproject.com, or simply drop him a comment below.