There is no real rhyme or reason when it comes to drink selection. I have a curated list of possibilities that I usually consult. Beyond that, it could be a song I heard, a random craving for aquavit, a request from the wife or the way a leaf catches the moonlight. So how did we get to today’s drink? Maybe I am on a weird ingredient kick. Maybe I was reading about regional cookies. Maybe this one was a request. This morning was so long ago that I can barely remember what inspired me to go down this rabbit hole. That is obviously a lie, but I needed a segue, so here we are. In the spirit of a mild prevarication in service to the narrative, won’t you join me now as we stand and make, the Two Boil Flip.

I was unable to find much history on this drink, beyond the fact that it exists online with no provenance attached. Pretty much just the same recipe copy and pasted one and over. I found it on Southern Kitchen but it feels like a specialty drink from some awesome bar, but whoever posted it the first time did not give credit, which is disappointing. Give credit when you can, it’s only decent. So, instead of the history of the drink, I will give you a little insight on how I found it. This morning, as I lay abed, as I am wont to do, I passed the time reading till I stumbled upon an Atlas Obscura article on a historic tavern in Marblehead, Massachusetts featuring the Joe Frogger Cookie. I am a big fan of cookies and Massachusetts and any tavern located on Gingerbread Hill, so I delved deeper. The article described the cookie as “fat as a lily pad, sharp with rum, salty with seawater, Christmassy with ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice, and caramelly sweet with molasses.” That sounded right up my alley, so I messaged Jenn to get her input, she agreed that this is a thing we need in our lives. Then I read the recipe and there I was with a mouthwatering desire for a cookie I cannot have, yet. Jenn suggested that I find a molasses based cocktail to make in honor of our new quest and a few minutes researching on the interwebs yielded this gem and another drink for another day. I am a fan of flips, and using whole eggs in drinks in general, so here we are on the very cusp of a cocktail.

Grab your tins and pop in 2 ounces of bourbon, I one with Four Roses; 3/4 of an ounce of 1:1 Molasses simple syrup, 1/2 an ounce of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1/2 an ounce of St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur, 1/4 ounce of simple syrup and 1 whole large egg, sans shell, naturally. Give that a good dry shake to the beat of Hank Penny’s “I Like Molasses” until he “spreads ’em on cornbread” or so, then add some of those artisanal ice cubes and give it a proper wet shake. Strain into a chilled Nick & Nora and grate a little fresh nutmeg on top.

Ooooh, isn’t that interesting? Obviously creamy, but a decent depth of flavor. The lemon juice comes through surprisingly hard, it might be better with a less obvious citrus element, maybe not. It is nice, just not at all what I expected. Obviously your choice of bourbon is going to affect this one a lot as is your choice of molasses. There are lots of different grades of molasses, I prefer the darker stuff, for its richer, less sweet flavor. The lighter the color, the less it was cooked and the sweeter it is. blackstrap molasses are the darkest with the deepest and are almost bitter, so only use it in recipes that actually call for it; and unless you grew up on it, avoid the sulphured stuff altogether, it often has a vaguely chemical aftertaste.

Speaking of molasses, I am using some locally made stuff we got from the Halls Mill Sorghum Squeeze held every October. It is a fascinating little community event where you can discover the entire process, from the mule walking in a circle to power the sorghum press that extracts the juices from the cane, to helping cook that juice down to their final form, boiling and skimming off the foam before bottling. It really is wonderful to see the process from beginning to end and to get to take home fresh molasses, as well. OK, technically, Sorghum Molasses are created by a different process than sugar cane molasses, but we have always used them interchangeably. Sorghum syrup ends up with a little more sour edge to its flavor than molasses and has a thinner consistency, but nine out of ten folks wearing overalls won’t be able to tell the difference once you slather it on a hot biscuit with some melted butter. The only real problem with using it in this drink is that Sorghum only gets boiled once, which makes the title not really work, but we can keep that between us. There is nothing wrong with the drink. I mean it’s no amazing rum seawater molasses ginger cookie, but it will do just fine, till we can get a Joe Frogger to pair with it. Stay safe, stay hydrated and stay sane, my friends.