The Negroni Flip

You'll no longer have to buy a plane ticket to get in on the cocktails at Seattle's Essex: Owners Brandon Pettit and Molly Wizenberg (a.k.a. Orangette) will be sharing their favorite recipes with us, every other week. Drink up, people.

Today: A secret ingredient turns your favorite gin cocktail into something more like a milkshake.

We’ve talked about raw egg whites in cocktails, and that means that it’s time to push on toward the next frontier: whole eggs in cocktails. It takes a leap of faith, but those who jump will not regret it. Actually, you may have made the leap without thinking about it last month, when you poured yourself a glass of boozy eggnog. Onward!

Today we’re talking flips, the general name for cocktails that contain a whole raw egg. Specifically, we’re looking at the Negroni Flip -- also known, according to our bar manager Niah, as Heaven. Niah had his first Negroni Flip at Kask, an exceptional bar in Portland, Oregon, and he’s been going on about it ever since. Basically, a Negroni Flip is just a Negroni -- equal parts gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth -- with an added dash of simple syrup and an egg, shaken until your arm falls off. (Seriously. Shake it until you can’t shake it anymore. Consider it a pre-dinner workout.)

The payoff is a gorgeous, foam-capped drink that looks like a Creamsicle in a rocks glass and tastes like Negroni-flavored ice cream. At first sip, you get a little sweetness, but wait: here comes the bitter edge of the Campari, and now a cool, velvety softness (thank you, egg) that sends it down easy. We’re not supposed to play favorites, but weeeeell, it’s our new favorite.

Negroni Flip

Serves 1

1 ounce gin
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce Carpano Antica, or whatever sweet vermouth you've got
1/4 ounce rich simple syrup (see note)
1 large egg
Orange peel, for garnish

See the full recipe (and save it and print it) here.

Photos by Molly Wizenberg