The Colonial Recipe for a “FLIP”

Considering the fact that water was known to make people sick, the American colonies found safety in liquor. Colonial Boston was a peninsula slightly larger than one square mile in size. The town took pride in more than sixty breweries and distilleries to supply more than 150 taverns and bawdy houses. Our Founding Fathers were most productive in the evenings as they savored a tankard of ale or a mug of rum. However, those with more refined taste could indulge in a colonial “flip”. The following excerpt from my first novel Snug Harbor Tavern: Shaggin’ for a Shillin’ introduces Amos the barman and his private recipe.

Amos proceeded to show her how to draw ale and rum. “Down below here, in this cabinet, we have a small stock of brandy and a private supply of Madeira for Mr. Hancock,” he said. “Now we have the specialty of the house called the Amos Flip. First, you fill a large pewter mug, it’s actually a pitcher, full of beer; then sweeten with sugar or molasses, and we add a gill, that’s about a quarter pint, of rum. Now we stir this mix with a red-hot loggerhead.”
“What’s a loggerhead?” asked Angel.
Amos smiled. “Imp, get that small hot poker from the fireplace,” ordered Amos. Holding the blazing rod in his meaty fist, he added, “This, Angel, is a loggerhead; and it’s white-hot, so be careful. You stick this in the flip, and it foams right up. Now you have a finished flip.”
Clapping, Imp added, “Tell her about the Dinner Flip, Amos.”
Amos said, grinning, “Sometimes the folks are hungry and thirsty, and they want a Dinner Flip. We take a quart mug two-thirds full of beer, but we add four spoonsful of my special creamy mix, made of a pint of cream, four eggs, and four spoons of sugar, add a gill of rum, and hit it with the loggerhead.”

Many readers tell me of their joy in creating their version of a “flip”.