Fino Flip
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 11% ABV ∙
The Fino Flip is a yolk flip of fino sherry, sugar syrup and aromatic bitters, shaken until creamy and served up in a coupe. Creamy and custard-soft from the egg, with the sherry's dry, nutty tang cutting through the sweetness and a warm spice edge from the bitters on the finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Fino sherry 90 mlSugar syrup 15 mlAngostura aromatic bitters 3 dashesEgg yolk 1 pc
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Garnish with three aromatic bitters drops
Tips
- Shake the yolk, fino, syrup and bitters hard over plenty of ice so the yolk emulsifies into a smooth, uniform body rather than a thin, separated one.
- Shake hard with ice for a full 15-20 seconds once combined to fully aerate the yolk and chill the sherry-based mix without over-diluting it.
- Fine-strain into a chilled coupe to catch any yolk membrane or ice shards, giving a silky, uniform surface for the bitters garnish.
- Dot the finished foam with a few drops of aromatic bitters and drag a pick through them to create a marbled pattern instead of stirring it in.
History
The Fino Flip belongs to the flip family, a style of drink first recorded in England in the late 1600s as a hot mixture of ale, rum or brandy, sugar, and egg, warmed with a red-hot poker and considered a sailor's drink. Over the 19th century the flip shed both the ale and the heat, evolving into the cold, shaken combination of spirit or fortified wine, sugar, and egg that defines the modern version; the first known recipe for the beerless, shaken style appeared in the 1874 book The American Bar-Tender, calling for a whole egg shaken with sugar and either a spirit or sherry. Jerry Thomas included brandy, rum, gin, whiskey, and port flips, alongside a sherry version, in the 1887 edition of his bartending guide How to Mix Drinks, cementing sherry as one of the classic bases for the drink. The Fino Flip is a variation on this Sherry Flip template that specifies fino, the driest and palest style of sherry, in place of a generic or sweeter sherry.
FAQ
What is in a Fino Flip?
Fino sherry, sugar syrup, egg yolk, and aromatic bitters, shaken hard and served up in a coupe. The egg yolk gives the drink its signature thick, creamy texture rather than just topping it with foam.
What are the ingredients in a flip cocktail?
A flip is built from a base spirit or wine, a sweetener, and a whole egg (or just the yolk), shaken without ice first and then with ice to emulsify. This build uses fino sherry as the base, sugar syrup to sweeten, and egg yolk for richness, with a few dashes of aromatic bitters for spice.
Why is it called a flip cocktail?
The name refers to the technique, not an ingredient: early versions were made by pouring the hot drink back and forth, or "flipping," it between two vessels to mix and cool it. Modern flips get their frothy texture from vigorous shaking instead, but the name stuck.
What is fino in cocktails?
Fino is the driest, palest style of sherry, aged under a layer of flor yeast that keeps it crisp, nutty, and free of sweetness. Its low sugar and briny, almond-like character make it a good counterweight to a flip's egg and syrup, keeping the drink from tasting cloying.
Is a Fino Flip shaken or stirred?
Shaken, and shaken twice. It is first dry-shaken without ice to emulsify the egg yolk, then shaken again with ice to chill and aerate before fine-straining.
What glass is a Fino Flip served in?
A coupe glass, served up with no ice, finished with a few drops of aromatic bitters on the foam as garnish.
