I love eggs and bacon for breakfast. It’s even nicer if I can drink my eggs in a cocktail.

As you may have noticed, I’ve really been getting into flips lately. It doesn’t hurt that Mary gave us some fresh eggs, fresh out of her friend’s chickens. (These are much, much better than factory-farmed supermarket eggs.)

Last June I linked to an L.A. Times article about Mexican liqueurs which has now unfortunately fallen into the catacombs of their paid archive. I recently picked up another one they wrote about: Xtabentún (pronounced “shtah-behn-toon”), which means “vines growing on stone” in the Mayan language.

Its maker D’Aristi calls it the Mayan liqueur of the Yucatán, made from fermented honey and aniseed in a rum base (described in the article as “Pernod for honey lovers,” although I myself would be more likely to say “Herbsaint for honey lovers”). It’s lovely, and I understand it’s terrific in coffee (can’t wait to try that!). We decided to take Murray Stenson’s advice, though, after he left a comment on that post which included this recipe, encouraging us to try it for breakfast. “Mmmm, breakfast.” I, being no stranger to breakfast cocktails, wholeheartedly embraced this idea.

The Xtabentún Flip
(from Murray Stenson, Zig Zag Café, Seattle)

1-1/2 ounces brandy (we used Don Pedro Mexican brandy).
1/2 ounces Xtabentún
1/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
3/4 ounce fresh orange juice
Whole egg
Simple syrup to taste (we used 1/2 ounce of rich Demerara syrup).

Combine with ice and shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain into appropriately pretty glassware and optionally top with some freshly grated nutmeg.

Yay, eggs for breakfast! But, you know … I like bacon with my eggs.

Unfortunately a bit earlier that morning I discovered a mishap with our second refrigerator out in the garage — the freezer door had come open and had been that way for at least a day, ruining lots of frozen crawfish tails, boudin, duck sausage, black pudding, passion fruit purée and a gorgonzola and walnut frozen pizza from Roma Deli. Sigh. Not only that, but the three remaining packs of Allan Benton’s Hickory Smoked Country Bacon, one of the best I’ve ever had and one of my running favorites, had been at room temperature for too long and smelled just a little too funky when I opened them. DAMMIT!!

I looked in the inside fridge to see if there was anything else, and … ta-daaa! Kolozsvári to the rescue!

Not the first cocktail with which I’ve served bacon as an accompaniment, but maybe the best so far. I think the combo might work a little better with a more simply flavored flip or milk punch (“It’s really different,” said Wesly, who added that he’d drink this one but wasn’t sure he’d ask for another one). I rather enjoyed it, and look forward to more experimentation with Xtabentún.