Blue Blazer Cocktail (Recipe)

“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

1. Combine all ingredients into one mug. Light on fire
2. 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)
3. Put out flame before serving