Apricot Flip

A flip is a type of cocktail whose recipe calls for an egg as one of the ingredients. The word was first used around the late 1600s in relation to a drink made with beer, rum, and sugar. Over time, eggs were added, the amount of sugar going into it increased, the beer was done away with, and the flip evolved to mean a drink with wine or a spirit, an egg, and a sweetener like sugar. Among the first texts to feature the flip was Jerry Thomas’ 1862 text How to Mix Drinks; or, The Bon-Vivant’s Companion. It says:

“The essential in flips of all sorts is to produce the smoothness by repeated pouring back and forward between two vessels and beating up the eggs well in the first instance the sweetening and spices according to taste.”

One type of flip is the Apricot Flip which uses cognac, apricot brandy, sugar or simple syrup, and an egg. It's normally served with a grated nutmeg garnish.

The apricot is a refreshing, sweet option to build a cocktail around.

The fruit has seemingly been cultivated in Central Asia in China since at least 2000 BC. Traders travelling to the Great Silk Road took the fruit along with them and probably introduced it to Persians, who called it zardaloo (yellow plum). Travellers and nomads then took it to Eurasia. Traders and conquerors popularised the fruit across the world. 

Today, that has resulted in a cocktail like the Apricot Flip, a sweet beverage with a strong kick.