In 2010 the menu at the Black Pearl, a bar in Fitzroy, Melbourne, listed one drink by its name and a single line: "You don't wanna meet this cocktail in a dark alley." It listed no ingredients, and the bartenders didn't say what was in it when you asked. What came across the bar was a chilled coupe of pale amber-cream liquid under a dense foam, with fresh nutmeg grated over the top. It tastes like a spiced eggnog with a herbal edge, with aromas of sugar cookie dough, malted milk, cinnamon and black licorice. Underneath the foam are blanco tequila, Jägermeister, Yellow Chartreuse and a whole raw egg.
Three Spirits Nobody Wanted, One Glass
How it was built
The Death Flip was created by Chris Hysted-Adams, who was a young bartender at the Black Pearl at the time. He liked tequila, Jägermeister and Chartreuse. His customers told him they disliked all three. So he put all three in one glass and listed it without saying what was in it. The work took about a week, and the drink came together when he added the last pieces: a whole egg, a dash of syrup and grated nutmeg. The egg was there for mouthfeel and a creamy texture, so the drink coats the tongue instead of hitting it.
The first versions used a 100% agave blanco tequila that was easy to get in Melbourne then, and a vanilla syrup for sweetness. The ratios have hardly changed since. Most bartenders now use plain gomme (simple syrup) instead of vanilla.
"Flip" is the name of the drink family, a spirit shaken with a whole egg and sugar. The "Death" part has a second story. Hysted-Adams describes himself as a skateboarding tragic, and the death flip is a skateboard trick he calls a badass one.
From Fitzroy to bars abroad
By the end of 2010 the Australian food and bar press had written it up. Other bartenders started asking about it, and from there it moved quickly to the United States, New Zealand, China and Europe. It was served at NOLA in New Orleans, the Experimental Cocktail Club in London and The Devil's Advocate in Edinburgh. Mika Koivula tasted one at the Black Pearl in 2016 and put it on at Liberty or Death in Helsinki. In 2015 an American bartender who had found it while in the UK named it on a list of drinks that deserved modern-classic status. Back in Fitzroy, a colleague from those years remembers regulars who ordered round after round on Friday nights. Of all the whole-egg flips, the Death Flip is the only one to become a modern classic.
An old family of drinks
Flips go back a long way. In 17th-century England, sailors drank ale mixed with spirits and a sweetener and heated with a hot iron rod. By the 18th and 19th centuries, cocktail books were shaking whole eggs into the drink and serving it hot or cold. The Death Flip belongs to that whole-egg line, served cold and straight up. For more from the same country, see our Australian recipes, including the halal snack pack.
Ingredients (serves 1)
The three spirits go in at 2 parts tequila to 1 part each herbal liqueur. That proportion is what makes the drink taste like itself.
This drink contains egg (white and yolk), served raw. Use eggs sold for eating raw, within their date, and keep them refrigerated at 10°C or below. Crack the egg just before it goes into the shaker, and wash the shaker and tools before you start. Drink the cocktail within two hours of starting to make it. Older people, infants and pregnant people should take particular care with raw egg.
This is a strong drink for adults of legal drinking age only (20 and over in Japan). Never drive after drinking it. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or alcohol does not agree with you, skip it.
Equipment
- Cocktail shaker with a Hawthorne strainer
- Fine strainer (a small mesh sieve)
- Jigger marked for 1 oz (30 ml) and ½ oz (15 ml)
- Coupe glass
- Whole nutmeg grater or microplane
- Small bowl for cracking the egg
- Folded kitchen towel to hold under the shaker
Choosing the Bottles and Making Swaps
Look for a blanco (silver) tequila labelled 100% agave. An aged tequila changes the drink, so keep it blanco. Jägermeister is easy to find in most liquor stores. Yellow Chartreuse is an imported French herbal liqueur and is the bottle most worth hunting down, at a specialty liquor shop or online.
Two swaps keep the drink recognisable. If you can't get Yellow Chartreuse, use génépy liqueur, another herbal liqueur that fills the same herbal, gently sweet role. If you can't get Jägermeister, use another German herbal amaro. It keeps the bitter backbone, though the balance of anise and spice shifts with the bottle. For the syrup, vanilla gives a rounder, almost pie-like sweetness, and plain simple syrup lets the herbs and agave come through more cleanly. For a 2:1 simple syrup, stir 2 parts sugar into 1 part water until it dissolves.
Three things have no swap. The egg goes in whole, white and yolk together. Without it you no longer have a flip. The nutmeg needs to be a whole one, grated over the glass, because pre-ground nutmeg has lost the aroma that defines the top of the drink. And the 2:1:1 spirit ratio stays put.
With four liquids this concentrated, a few drops too much Jägermeister or syrup takes over the glass. Measure each one with the jigger instead of free-pouring, and the drink comes out balanced every time.
Method
The only hands-off time is chilling the glass, so do that first. After that the drink takes a few minutes of steady work: crack, measure, shake twice, strain, grate. Start the two-hour clock for the raw egg when you begin, and drink it soon after you pour.
There is a second way to build the foam, and it's worth trying if yours collapses. Shake everything with ice first, then strain the liquid back into the empty shaker and throw out the ice. Dry shake it without ice, then fine strain into the glass. The foam comes out especially stable. Use one order or the other, never a mix of the two. The quickest version shakes only with ice and skips the dry shake. That works, but the egg doesn't emulsify as well.
Grate the nutmeg as the very last thing, just before you serve. Nutmeg grated over the foam right away has a clear, warm aroma. Grated early, it fades by the time the glass reaches the table.
When It Goes Wrong
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Thin, quickly collapsing foam | The egg did not emulsify well before the ice went in | Dry shake harder next time, or use the reverse dry shake: ice first, strain back, then shake without ice |
| Specks of egg or ice shards in the glass | The drink went through only one strainer | Always pour through both the Hawthorne strainer and the fine strainer |
| Bitter, sharp herbal finish | The Jägermeister was over-poured, or the syrup was missed | Measure each pour, and keep the syrup at 1½ tsp (7.5 ml) |
| Cloying, dessert-like sweetness | Too much syrup | Keep the syrup to one measured dash. Simple syrup tastes cleaner than vanilla |
| Little aroma on top | The nutmeg was pre-ground or grated too early | Grate a whole nutmeg over the glass at the last moment |
| The drink has been standing a long time | Raw egg sitting out | Pour it away once two hours have passed since you started making it |
Serving, Variations and Storage
The Death Flip is a single, special drink. In a bar it's the drink you order when you want something unusual. At home it suits a quiet evening when you make just one. It's served cold, with no ice, in a coupe, and it's rich enough to stand alone.
Variations
- Vanilla syrup instead of simple syrup. This brings back the sweetener of the first versions. The drink tastes rounder and more like spiced pastry.
- Génépy instead of Yellow Chartreuse. The herbal character stays, and the honeyed warmth reads a little differently.
- Another German herbal amaro instead of Jägermeister. The bitter backbone stays, and the spice profile changes with the bottle you pick.
- A different glass. Some recipes call for a flip glass and others for a sour glass. The coupe shows off the foam and the nutmeg best.
To make more than one, keep the same 2:1:1 ratio and add one whole egg and one dash of syrup for every drink. Never split an egg between two drinks.
Storage
The Death Flip can't be stored or made ahead. Drink it within two hours of starting to make it, and pour away anything left after that. Keep unused eggs refrigerated at 10°C or below until you need them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make it without the egg?
No. The whole egg is what makes it a flip. It gives the drink its creamy body and its foam, and there is no substitute for it. Without the egg you have a different drink, a sharp mix of three spirits.
How strong is a Death Flip?
One drink holds about 18.7 g of pure alcohol, or more. That's because it's made almost entirely of spirits, with only an egg and a dash of syrup to soften them. Treat it as a strong drink and have one.
Can I use reposado or another aged tequila?
The Death Flip is built on blanco tequila, and the green agave note matters to the balance. Its fresh, sharp edge cuts through the egg and the dark herbal liqueurs. Use a 100% agave blanco.
Can I make a batch for a party ahead of time?
No. The raw egg has to be cracked just before shaking, and each drink should be drunk within two hours of starting. Make each drink to order, one egg per glass. Measuring the spirits and syrup into small glasses beforehand is the only shortcut that speeds things up at the shaker.
