Pumpkin Butter Flip

Halloween might be over but we have until Thanksgiving to capitalize on all things pumpkin flavor. Recently I did an apple cider + pumpkin butter cocktail for my farmers market cocktail column on Chicpeajc and I thought why not use pumpkin butter in another drink? I came up with this Pumpkin Butter Flip to bring you a seasonal and creamy dessert cocktail. It’s so good it might rival pumpkin pie for dessert at your Thanksgiving dinner table.

A flip is a category of mixed drink. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term was first used in 1695 to describe a mixture of beer, rum, and sugar, heated with a red-hot iron. The iron caused the drink to froth, and this frothing (or “flipping”) engendered the name. Over time, eggs were added and the proportion of sugar increased, the beer was eliminated, and the drink ceased to be served hot.

The first bar guide to feature a flip (and to add eggs to the list of ingredients) was Jerry Thomas‘s 1862 How to Mix Drinks; or, The Bon-Vivant’s Companion. In this work, Thomas declares 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 the sweetening and spices according to taste.”

With time, the distinction between eggnog (a spirit, egg, cream, sugar, and spice) and a flip (a spirit, egg, sugar, spice, but no cream) was gradually classified in America’s bar guides. In recent decades, bar guides have begun to indicate the presence of cream in a flip as optional.

Personally, I love a flip with a little cream in it. It mixes with the egg so well while adding a smooth and silky texture to the drink. Also, it tastes delicious!

Pumpkin Butter Flip

1 1/2 oz. spiced rum

1/2 oz. Faretti biscotti liqueur or amaretto 

1/2 oz. fall spice syrup

1/2 oz. heavy cream

1 heaping barspoon pumpkin butter

1 whole egg

pumpkin baking spice mix for garnish

In the larger side of your cocktail shaker add the whole egg and cream. Add the rest of your ingredients to the smaller side of your tin, pour into the large side and seal. Dry shake, add ice and shake again long and hard. Pour into a coupe glass and garnish with a dusting of pumpkin baking spice. Sip and enjoy!

I used my fall syrup in this cocktail and linked to the recipe above. You can also sub it out for regular demerara or simple syrup. I had it on hand and the flavors went so well with the drink it was a no-brainer to use it. The spiced rum contributes to the baking spice flavors of this Pumpkin Butter Flip but you can also use aged rum or even bourbon.

If you’ve never had Faretti Biscotti liqueur you are in for a treat. I use this in replace of amaretto all the time in cocktails. It’s sweet and delicate with hints of nuts, citrus, and anise. The liqueur is made in Northern Italy, near Lake Como, where delicious biscotti cookies are baked in rustic brick ovens. It goes great in coffee or as a little aperitif after dinner as well.

I love that this Pumpkin Butter Flip is reminiscent of eggnog but appropriate for the Fall and Thanksgiving. What will you be making for Thanksgiving dinner or dessert? This cocktail is definitely worth a try and consideration for your holiday menu. Cheers everyone! xo