Where: Daikaya Izakaya, 705 6th St. NW

Bartender: Eddie Kim

Mystery Ingredient: Quail eggs

Bartender Response: “How do I open this thing?” Kim said as he hit a quail egg with a spoon. “The shell is soft but the inner membrane is thick.” He ended up using a knife.

What We Got: An eggs-and-bacon variation on the classic flip cocktail. The drink, which Kim dubbed the “Tsukiji Market Fisherman’s Breakfast,” consisted of Japanese malt whisky, two different kinds of amaro, Bishop’s Breakfast oatmeal stout from Pratt Street Ale House in Baltimore, bitters from New York bar The Dead Rabbit, and a thick, broiled slab of pork belly as a garnish. “A nod to our ramen brothers at Toki,” Kim said, referencing one of Toki Underground’s most popular cocktails, which comes with a skewer of pork belly.

How It Tasted: This rich, custardy concoction went down really easy, with a tiny hint of chocolate from the stout and just the right amount of bitterness.

Improv Points (1 to 5): 4. The creamy consistency of the quail eggs’ yolks really leant themselves to a flip, instead of a fizz. And adding Italian digestifs with hangover-curing powers to a breakfast-themed cocktail was a clever move.

Recipe:

3 quail eggs

3/4 ounce Amaro Averna

3/4 ounce Amaro Meletti

3/4 ounce Nikka Taketsuru

12 Japanese malt whisky

1 1/2 ounce Oliver Brewery’s

Bishop’s Breakfast stout

Dash of The Dead Rabbit Orinoco Bitters

Combine eggs and other liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, shake vigorously, and then double strain into a fluted glass. Garnish with carrot flower, snap pea, and a piece of broiled pork belly.*

* Kim used a hand torch on the pork belly, but the broiler works too. You can also use bacon or Canadian bacon as a substitute for pork belly.

Got an idea for the next mystery ingredient? Share your thoughts in the comments. 

Photo by Adele Chapin