The Chocolate Flip

It’s drinks like this that win contests.

The last drink that Tim Philips made in his journey to taking out the Australian leg of Diageo’s World Class was a Chocolate Flip.

My god, it was World Class.

 

A picture of concentration. Just kidding, that's a picture of Tim

A flip, for those who don’t know, is any wine or liquor shaken up with sugar and a whole egg. There are some out there who will believe that this type of drink is somehow unhygenic, and that there is some type of risk involved in the consumption. While I’ll not be having a ten flip evening any time soon, done right the drink delivers an amazingly silky smooth and rich finish, the consummate parts bound together in an altogether greater whole.

What’s also amazing is that not every flip I’ve had was as good as this one. Miss the double strain and you’ll have stringy eggy tendrils in your drink and between your teeth.

Perhaps the most amazing thing was that Tim managed to produce the beverage without wearing the contents of the shaker.

Robb Sloan buries his nose in the flip.

The Chocolate Flip

An ounce each of Sloe Gin and Talisker (Embury’s recipe calls for Cognac,) a spoonful of sugar and a whole egg. Shake with long sharp shakes and double strain it up or down. Garnish with fresh grated nutmeg.

Yum.

 

The MacNicol

It was a week of fine drinks served up at the Diageo World Class Australia Finals last week. There are many great ones I’m going to try and write about, but one in particular has stuck in my mind. A dry apéritif  affair, stirred up by Angus Burton of the Waiting Room, in Melbourne.

The young Mr Burton qualified in one of the Brisbane rounds, and has spent some time behind the stick at Canvas. It’s a bar that keeps cropping up when I hear about great drinks and bartenders with compelling individual styles North of the Border, perhaps time to make a visit to warmer climes.

I digress.

Utter class in technique, Angus gave a twist on the Bobby Burns, a liqueured and bittered take on a Manhattan, American Whiskey changed out for Scotch. Using delicious Talisker as a base, dried out, but not too much by a smattering of Noilly Prat. Dry spiced sweetness from a waft of Mozart Dry and the amazing nutty Maraska Apricot Liqueur.

Talisker wonderfully showcased, that hint of smoke dancing at the finish. The salted caramel finish the experience, delightful.

The drink on the right was good too, a drying out of Zacapa, finished with rather delightful lavender and pineapple bitters. The delicious jamon, with flowers of salt, all wrapped around a matchstick of coconut, was part of a seemingly growing trend for meat garnishes. It is a trend I wholeheartedly endorse.

The scotch drink for me though, endures, named his own kilted roots. Gus was kind enough to share the spec with me, and here it is, below:

The MacNicol

45ml Talisker
15ml Noilly Prat
7.5ml Zadarski Apricot
7.5ml Mozart Dry
Dash of Rosso Antico (5ml)

Stir it down and strain into a cocktail glass,

Give it some orange zest love and discard the zest.

Drink it up.