Photograph by Michael Polito
|
“This is a drink that is open to interpretation,” says Josh Rosenmeier, the head bartender at Stockade Tavern. “You do need a higher proof spirit to be able to ignite it on fire. The drink in itself is a show. When people ask for it, we turn the lights down. There’s a flame that trails in between both cups, so it’s very exciting to watch.”
-
3 oz. Aberlour (a cask-strength scotch: it comes straight out of the barrel with no dilution. It’s anywhere from around 110 to 130 proof)
-
2 oz. warm water
-
Lemon peel
-
1 demerara sugar cube (sugar in the raw, purest form unrefined sugar)
-
2 metal mugs
-
Combine all ingredients into one mug. Light on fire
-
Pass back and forth between mugs (the motion of passing between mugs allows you to heat the drink manually; this technique is very old-school, written in one of the first bar manuals by Jerry Thomas back in the 1800s)
-
Put out flame before serving