Gin Flip

The American Bar-Tender by E. A. Simmons (1874, p.8)

1. Beat the egg very thin.
2. Mix with the sugar, gin, and fine ice.
3. Strain into a small glass and grate nutmeg on top.

Garnish: Nutmeg

Ice: Fine ice

The Police Gazette Bartenders Guide by Richard K. Fox (1888, p.27) — 1888

1. Dissolve the sugar in a little seltzer water and add the Holland gin and fine ice.
2. Shake well, strain into a fancy glass, and serve.

Ice: Fine ice

Summary

A lean gin flip variant that shows how loosely some late flip nomenclature could be applied.

This is useful because it preserves a service name whose contents are already drifting away from the more familiar egg-bound flip form.

The absence of explicit egg is exactly what makes this historically interesting and worth preserving honestly.

Compared with Brandy Flip, this is much sparer and reveals how unstable some late category boundaries could be.

Cocktail Boothby's American Bar-Tender by Wm. T. Boothby (1891, p.24)

1. Shake the ingredients thoroughly with ice.
2. Strain into a small cut glass and grate nutmeg on top.

Garnish: Grated nutmeg

The explicit substitution shows how stable the flip formula had become across base spirits.

The service remains a whole-egg shaken flip with nutmeg finish.

Modern American Drinks by George J. Kappeler (1895, p.64) — George J. Kappeler 1895

1. Prepare the drink in the same manner as Egg Flip, substituting Tom gin for sherry.

Garnish: Grated nutmeg

Nose

Sweet gin botanicals and nutmeg define the aroma.

Palate

This version pulls the flip family away from fortified wine and toward a sweeter botanical spirit richness.

Finish

The finish is warm, rich, and gently spiced.

Summary

A gin-side flip showing the family's flexibility beyond wine and brandy bases.

The Complete Buffet Manual or How to Mix Fancy Drinks by J. E. Sheridan (1901, p.40)

1. Fill the glass half full of shaved ice and add the ingredients.
2. Shake well, strain into a fancy glass, and serve.

Ice: Shaved ice

This is a useful reminder that some later "flip" labels no longer required egg, even within the same manual.

The sugar-water dissolution happens before the main shake, keeping the service terse and direct.

The Complete Buffet Guide by V. B. Lewis (1903, p.40) — V. B. Lewis 1903

1. Dissolve the sugar in a little water.
2. Add the Holland gin and fill the glass half full with shaved ice.
3. Shake well, strain into a fancy glass, and serve.

Nose

Sweetened gin gives a softer aromatic profile than the stiffer aromatic-cocktail branch.

Palate

This keeps the flip family closer to the gin-and-sugar line than the more heavily dressed spice-and-nutmeg forms.

Finish

The finish is smooth, sweet, and lightly herbal.

Summary

A simpler gin flip from the softer branch of the family.

The Hoffman House Bartender's Guide by Charles S. Mahoney (1905, p.177)

1. Shake the sugar dissolved in a little seltzer water, Holland gin, fresh egg, and lump ice well.
2. Strain into a fancy glass, grate a little nutmeg on top, and serve.

Garnish: Grated nutmeg

Ice: Lump ice

The Buffet Blue Book by John H. Considine (1912, p.34)

1. Shake the ice, sugar, dash of seltzer, Holland gin, and egg well.
2. Strain into a fancy glass, grate nutmeg on top, and serve.

Garnish: Grated nutmeg

Ice: Ice

Bartenders' Guide: How to Mix Drinks by Wehman Bros. (1912, p.33)

1. Dissolve the sugar in a little seltzer water, add the egg, Holland gin, and fine ice, shake well, strain into a fancy glass, and serve.

Ice: Ice

The Up-to-Date Bartender's Guide by Harry Montague (1913, p.27)

1. Substitute gin for brandy and proceed as for Brandy Flip.
2. Serve in a fancy bar glass with nutmeg.

Garnish: Nutmeg

Ice: Fine ice

This entry is explicitly substitution-based in the source.

Home Brewed Wines and Beers and Bartenders' Guide by Johnson Smith & Company (1918) — 1918 Home Brewed, How to Mix Drinks opening section

1. Dissolve sugar in water, fill glass half full of shaved ice, shake well, strain into a fancy glass, and serve.

Ice: Shaved ice

Down the Hatch by "Paul" (1920, p.13) — Down the Hatch 1920

1. Shake well and strain.
2. Serve in a thin glass with grated nutmeg over the top.

Garnish: Grated nutmeg

Ice: 0.5 tumbler broken ice

This matters because it preserves a dairy-and-yolk gin flip branch with a tiny pousse-cafe accent still alive in 1920.

The milk and nutmeg service is central here, not incidental.

L'Art du Shaker by Dominique Migliorero (1925, p.28)

1. Prepare following the Brandy Flip method, replacing brandy with gin.

Cocktails by Pedro Chicote (1928, p.277) — Noyau version

1. Shake and serve in a flip glass with grated nutmeg.

Garnish: Nutmeg

Ice: 3 or 4 pieces ice

This matters because it preserves a noyau-seasoned gin flip branch in Chicote's late interwar service world.

Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em by Stanley Clisby Arthur (1938, p.79)

1. Make as for the Brandy Flip, substituting gin for brandy.
2. Finish with grated nutmeg.

Garnish: Grated nutmeg