Bright, gloriously sour kumquat juice shaken up with simple syrup, dry gin, egg white, and a splash of Campari — this is a sweet-tart sipper, meant to be savored over the cocktail hour. The egg whites are lovely in it: they soften a little of the citrus pucker and give the drink a pleasantly creamy texture that’s reminiscent of an orange dreamsicle.

We like to make this lively cocktail on game night, when we’ve got a couple friends over for a night of cards and conversation, and we don’t mind hopping up to mix drinks. It’s also a lovely late afternoon tipple, perfect for an afternoon of pocket novels and letter writing.

Our tip: Juicing the wee kumquats doesn’t need to be laborious. Trim the ends, cut them in half, and put three or four of them in your lemon or lime press at a time.

Servings: 1

Ingredients

For the kumquat simple syrup:

½ cup sugar

½ cup water

½ cup kumquats, rinsed

For the flip:

2 oz gin

½ oz Campari

½ oz lemon juice

½ oz kumquat juice (about 10 to 12)

¾ oz kumquat simple syrup

1 egg white

Ice

1 kumquat, thinly sliced

Equipment: Cocktail shaker

Directions

1. To make the simple syrup: In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, and kumquats and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the syrup for 5 minutes.

2. Remove from heat, cover, and cool for 10 minutes. Strain into a mason jar and set aside.

3. To make the flip: In a cocktail shaker, combine the gin, Campari, lemon juice, kumquat juice, simple syrup, and egg white and shake until all the ingredients are combined.

4. Fill shaker ¾ with ice and shake vigorously until frothy.

5. Strain into a coupe or martini glass and garnish with kumquat slices.