While egg whites are standard fare in the cocktail world, capable of adding frothy texture to any number of drinks, the same cannot be said for whole eggs themselves. Outside the realm of flips, those liquid holdovers from the colonial era, and, of course, eggnog, applications are limited for an egg in its entirety.
This is perhaps because, unlike egg white, a yolk contributes a noticeable, albeit subtle flavor when mixed in drinks. Likewise, its high fat content mutes other, more nuanced flavors. But still, we wondered: With slight recipe tweaks, could adding a whole egg further winterize classic drinks?
After attempting to flip seven cocktails, from the Ramos Gin Fizz to the Sidecar to (regrettably) the Martini, we found that eggs muted sweetness more than they did sour flavors, and that these flipped drinks typically required an additional quarter-ounce of simple syrup to keep things in balance.
Happily, albeit surprisingly, there were a few hits in the mix. Here, seven drinks—flipped.
Negroni
While the classic 1:1:1 formula adapts well to the addition of an egg, we found that dialing back the Campari by one half-ounce and replacing it with a half-ounce of orange juice resulted in a frothy, full-bodied take that still captured the bittersweet character of the original.
Ramos Gin Fizz
Unsurprisingly, the addition of a whole egg, as opposed to that of an egg white, results in a noticeably denser, heavier drink, which reads a bit like a boozy milkshake. It’s still immensely drinkable.
Sidecar
After trying a few different renditions on the classic recipe, Joaquín Simó’s version of the Sidecar, which calls on dry Curaçao and rich demerara syrup, proved to hold up best to the addition of an egg. The result was a full-bodied cocktail that still allowed the Cognac and citrus flavors to come through.
Manhattan
Despite our hopes, not even tweaking the ratios could save this from being god awful. (In this case, we’ll stick to our ultimate, stirred version.)
Whiskey Sour
Egg whites have proved their worth when it comes to the Whiskey Sour, but a whole egg is uncharted territory. To the mixture of whiskey, lemon and simple syrup, an egg lends substantial body, which, when combined with the spiced wood-notes of rye, reads pleasantly like eggnog lite.
Blinker
If you can get past the color of this drink, which might generously be described as “dusty pigeon,” there’s something to be said for this riff. The creaminess of the egg tempers the heat of the rye, and still allows the grain character of the whiskey to shine through.
Martini
Don’t try this at home.
