The Death Flip is a real cracker of a drink. It has it all. Tequila, check. Jager, check. Chartreuse, check. It’s a dessert and a drink and a party all at once. So given we’re covering a bunch of Aussie stuff in this month’s issue we thought we would dust off the old Death Flip and have a chat to the man behind this epic beverage, Mr Chris Hysted-Adams.
How did it come to be?
You know how it is! You’re a young impressionable bartender, so all you like drinking is Tequila, Jagermeister and Chartreuse. You also love drinking any cocktails that have Tequila, Jagermeister or Chartreuse in them. Chances are, during service, you’re recommending cocktails to your guests with Tequila, Jagermeister or Chartreuse in them. But there’s a problem. A lot of your guests tell you they don’t like cocktails with Tequila, Jagermeister or Chartreuse in them. That can be frustrating. So you decide to make a cocktail with Tequila, Jagermeister and Chartreuse in it. Then put it on the menu, and not tell anyone what’s in it. Hopefully, that might help some people see the light.
Do people still ask you to make it?
Yep! Many of my industry ‘friends’ take great joy in sending guests to Moon Dog World, to ask me to make it for them.
What’s your favourite modern classic?
Easy. A Tommy’s Margarita. It’s just bloody delicious. The fact all the ingredients are easy to collect makes it a real winner too when I (my family) feel like drinking cocktails at home.
You’ve moved on to making your own booze now. Tell us a bit more about that.
Ha! I’m not exactly making my own booze, but I am one part of the creative force behind Moon Dog Craft Brewery’s Alcoholic Seltzer – FIZZER. We worked really hard perfecting everything from the crisp brewed base to the flavour concepts/profiles during our extensive lockdown period down in Victoria. Idle hands and all that y’know?
When you’re used to being able to craft a cocktail to one person’s tastes, producing 20,000L of one flavour at a time was initially really intimidating. Seeing pallets upon pallets of cans arriving at the brewery was terrifying, but seeing how people have taken to FIZZER has been one of the most-rewarding moments of my career so far (apart from seeing the Death Flip take off and winning Bartender of the Year in 2009!)
THE ORIGINAL RECIPE 30ml Herradura Blanco Tequila (it was the only easily available 100% agave tequila we could get at the time!) 15ml Jagermeister 15ml Yellow Chartreuse Dash Vanilla Syrup Whole Egg Glass: Coupe Method: dry shake, shake with ice, fine strain Garnish: freshly grated nutmeg
“The ratios haven’t really changed over time, but most people use regular gomme in lieu of vanilla now. I find it lets the base spirits shine a bit more and is obviously easier to source (but the splash of vanilla is pretty damn delicious imho).” – Chris Hysted-Adams