BY CHRIS POH

"The days are short, the weather's cold,  By tavern fires tales are told.  Some ask for dram when first come in,  Others with flip and bounce begin." -New England Almanac for December 1704

Migratory formations above, the crunch of leaves below, a chill across the shoulders…the signs are certainly all there – it is time to close up the Tiki bar and take ones libations indoors. And like my colonial forebears, I seek that which will warm the soul as well as the belly. One such elixir that fortified the American colonists against the inevitable hardships of winter was their much cherished flip. Originally concocted back in England, the drink became a mainstay of colonial taverns, and publicans from Massachusetts to Georgia prided themselves on the method of preparation and their particular house recipes.

The standard New England recipe taken from Gaspee Days: ·   3 eggs ·   3 teaspoons sugar ·   1 jigger rum ·   1 jigger brandy ·   1 red-hot flip iron or poker heated in fireplace ·    tall, all-pewter mug ·    12-16 ounces of ale 1.  In a quart mug break three eggs 2.  Add three teaspoons sugar and stir well 3.  Add in the jigger of rum and the jigger of brandy, beating meanwhile. 4.  Fill remaining volume of mug with beer 5.  Insert red-hot iron (loggerhead) until it hisses and foams.        The drink will become only warm.

                           

Notes:  Some recipes suggest spicing with one or more of the following: nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, pumpkin or lemon  peels. This author prefers the mini-flip – same drink, but with no eggs. I recommend using a strong seasonal ale and spice to taste. Finally, there’s a practical use for that pewter tankard someone gave you so many Christmases ago.

           


                                                                  From Stagecoach and Tavern Days by Alice Morse Earle   


A fire and a loggerhead are essential in the execution of flip. 


To learn more about the history of Flip and other popular inebriants in colonial America click here.