Trade Winds Flip Recipe
Trade Winds Flip is a cocktail using No. 92 Zheng Shan, developed by our dear friend and not-infrequent recipe collaborator Lucas Plant, the co-founder of Portland's Bull in China. While we respect the passion and attention to detail he brings to his craft, we also love any excuse to encourage him into the Tasting Room to spend the afternoon indulging in culinary creativity of all kinds.
Flips are a category of cocktails that include an entire egg in the mixture. They are full bodied and wonderful for colder months. Combined with rum that's been infused with No. 92 Zheng Shan smoked black tea, the Trade Winds Flip becomes a real "stick to your ribs" drink, as Lucas would say.
A Little Cocktail History
Jerry Thomas, often considered the "father of American mixology," published multiple books in the mid-1800s, including How to Mix Drinks; or, The Bon-Vivant's Companion, in which he described that "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." Unlike lighter cocktails that may include just egg whites, flips have a richness from the protein that comes with using the entire egg.
Ingredients
- 2 oz No. 92 Zheng Shan infused dark rum (instructions below)
- 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
- 3/4 oz Chinese 5 spice simple syrup (instructions below)
- 1/4 oz Pierre Ferrand dry Curaçao
- 1 whole egg
- Orange zest
Trade Winds Flip Recipe
- Add all ingredients to a shaker tin and fill halfway with ice. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds to chill, dilute and incorporate.
- Strain back into shaker tin without ice and "dry shake" generously for 15 seconds.
- Pour into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with an orange twist and a very light dusting of Chinese 5 spice powder.
Tea Infused Rum
For our recipe, we used Ron Zacapa 23-year Rum. Be sure to start with a dark rum rather than a light one; dark rum has more depth, which you will want to balance the smokiness of the tea. To infuse your rum with Zheng Shan, measure 5 grams of tea leaves for every 3 ounces of rum. Pour the leaves into the rum and let them soak for two hours.
Chinese 5 Spice Simple Syrup
To make Chinese 5 spice simple syrup, mix 1 teaspoon of 5 spice with 1 cup of sugar and a half-cup of hot water. Stir the mixture, allow it to cool, then strain the liquid with cheesecloth to remove any remaining powder. Feel free to use this simple syrup to top off coffee, drinking chocolate, ice cream or tea.
Recipe Development and Notes
- If you so choose, you can add a splash of sparkling water to your drink, which will stretch the mixture and lighten it up a bit.
- In making a flip cocktail, it is always a good idea to include a citrus component, as we did with the lime juice. Citrus reacts with the egg to aerate the mixture and add balance.
- Following a "cold shake" with a "dry shake," as you will do in Step 2 of the recipe, will add to the frothiness to the drink, forming those wonderful bubbles that add so much to your presentation.
- When Lucas first began developing the recipe, he originally thought to use Szechuan pepper instead of 5 spice for the simple syrup. After some testing, it ended up being too spicy. For anyone feeling adventurous, you can use this example to experiment with your own spiced simple syrups. Blend with this cocktail or other original recipes you may have up your sleeve.
Learn more about the origin and tasting notes of our No. 92 Zheng Shan here. Enjoy.
