By Christopher Cook

Let's talk about something fun, for a change: the big alcoholic hit of 1750....Creaming Flip!

I first heard of this drink on one of Michael Medved's tapes on American history, and I was so intrigued that I just had to try it. And, as it turned out, we actually had an opportunity not only to make this drink for ourselves, but to showcase it at a drink-making contest being hosted by some friends.

My wife and I are not big alcohol aficionados; we enjoy the occasional drink...a glass of port with a cigar, muscat with some sorbet, or mimosa with a huge Sunday morning brunch. Our friends in question, on the other hand, enjoyed experimenting with and sampling a wider variety of alcoholic beverages. So much so, in fact, that they began holding these annual drink-making contest-parties each year, parties that we were pleased to have attended in 2003 and 2004. The rules were simple; there were two categories in which one's concoction could win: taste and presentation. Attendees, including the other contestants, cast the votes.

Our friends, the hosts, are competitive people...in a friendly sort of way. They are successful, athletic...and they like to win! We knew that in order to beat their entry, we'd need something pretty spectacular.

We re-listened to the section of the tape with the information about Flip. We did some Internet research, and found that in spite of the drink's popularity in the 18th century, there was a paucity of information online. Nonetheless, we were able to find several recipes, which we synthesized into something that, in the end, turned out really good. Here's the recipe, and then I'll finish the story about the contest....


Ingredients:

24 oz - alcoholic cider
2 - egg yolks
2 oz - lemon juice
2 tbs - granulated sugar
1/2 tsp - nutmeg
1–2 oz - rum


Equipment:

two saucepans with handles
1 plastic mixing bowl
1 whisk
1 iron poker or loggerhead


Procedure:

Begin heating the iron poker in the hot coals of a fireplace, or over an open flame.

In one of the saucepans, begin heating all but around two ounces of the cider. Do not boil.

Take the two ounces of cider and heat with the sugar, lemon juice, and nutmeg-- using moderate heat--until the sugar has just dissolved. Remove from heat.

In the plastic mixing bowl, beat the egg yolk with the rum until just smooth.

Place the lemon/sugar mixture into the plastic mixing bowl with the egg mixture and beat to combine.

Return this newly combined mixture to one of the saucepans.

Take the saucepan with the cider in one hand, and the saucepan with the mixture in the other, and begin pouring them together, back and forth from pan to pan until the mixture is combined and creamy.

With all of the Flip in one of the pans, take the red-hot iron poker and plunge it into the liquid---allowing it to sizzle and foam. Make sure everyone is around to watch!

(For an added touch, pour the prepared Flip into a roasted pumpkin and serve it from there.)


Substitutions:

Beer instead of cider
Cinnamon instead of nutmeg (or in addition)
Port or brandy instead of rum

Experiment! Try brown sugar instead of granulated. Try using no spirits at all. We are still getting used to this recipe, and since there's no one left alive from the 18th century, there's no authority to ask, and it's all fair game.



So, back to the contest...

Hours beforehand, we did a dry run at home, and it came out awful! We figured that we should concentrate on presentation and just hope for the best, so we put together some supplies and headed out.

At the party, we immediately could tell which drink display belonged to our friends---it was the best one there. There were patriotic festoons and contrivances of color and ribbon. The drink itself was a profound blue and red color, and it sat upon a rotating dais. The dais was translucent, and a light cast a glow up through the drink from beneath. It was beautiful........and as soon as I saw it, I knew we would have them beat.

We had but a few bells and whistles: a little fake foliage, a tavern-style price list in magic marker on cardboard, and a couple of small gourds. What we really had to offer was a story...an American story.

As my wife heated the Flip, I told a tale of our fledgling Colonies, which, at the height of Flip's popularity, already enjoyed the highest standard of living in the world. I spoke of sprawling apple orchards, and the happy Colonial farmers who enjoyed their foaming mugs of Flip.

I turned to our troubles and triumphs in the Revolution, and as I did, I unfurled the Gadsten flag---the "Don't Tread on Me" flag flown by the Continental Navy---tattered, but still defiant.

I wore grey pants and a blue shirt, and I referenced the Blue and the Gray as I spoke of the hard struggle of the Civil War...and of its ultimate triumph for freedom.

I spoke of a later struggle for freedom in which our parents and grandparents sacrificed and gave their all, and as I did, I unfurled a 48-star flag, the flag that flew during WWII.

And then, I brought it all back to the beginning with a few closing words, just in time for my wife to plunge the hot poker into the Flip. It sizzled and steamed and foamed, and the attendees all clapped with glee.


Needless to say, we won hands down for presentation, but wouldn't you know it---this second batch was much better than the first--delicious, in fact--and we won for taste too!