As the weather gets cooler, so do the drink garnishes. Whether used for pure dramatic flair or to add a whisper of smoky flavor, fire has gone hand-in-hand with booze for nearly two centuries.
In the darkened depths of a moody bar, few things get one’s heart racing quite like a cocktail set ablaze. It’s wonderfully theatrical—the way the flickering flame dances in silhouette against the blackness. But, in reality, we all just like setting things on fire. Whatever the motivation, bars across the country and beyond are packing their cocktail menus with flaming quaffs that make googly-eyed patrons ooh, ahh and whip out their phones. Here are eight mesmerizing drinks that’ll tap into your inner pyromaniac.
This season, head to a bar near you to try one of these 11 new flaming cocktails, which range from tropical refreshers at classic Tiki joints to spirit-forward sippers at new-school gastropubs.
Served in a Tiki-style scorpion bowl, this large-format elixir by head bartender Tyson Buhler employs two types of gin (Perry’s Tot and St. George dry rye gin), rather than rum, as the base. Built with lime and orange juices, as well as ginger, passion fruit and vanilla syrups, the mix is finished with bright cardamom bitters, then garnished with orchid and cinnamon. A flame is used for both visual appeal and to ignite the cinnamon, producing a spicy, toasted aroma.
OFF THE COAST OF HANAUMA BAY (DRAM & GRAIN, WASHINGTON, D.C
In this large-format frozen Tiki quaff by barman Andy Bixby, the flame is only a small part of a showstopping presentation. Sweet-sipping Ron Zacapa 23 and robust Thomas Tew Widows Walkwhite rum are fused with lime juice and an array of time-intensive, house-made ingredients—toasted coconut orgeat, mavi falernum (made with a Puerto Rican fermented tea), the bartender’s eponymous Bixby’s Beach Bar dram and dried plum bitters—all over crushed ice in a ceramic treasure chest. At the center is a charred lime half, filled with absinthe and overproof rum and lit on fire at the table.
ZOMBIE (THREE DOTS AND A DASH, CHICAGO)
In this straightforward take on the classic Zombie, acclaimed beverage director Julian Cox splashes Smith & Cross and Appleton 12-year rare blend Jamaican rums with cassia cinnamon, Pernod absinthe and fresh lime, grapefruit and pomegranate juices.
ROOT BEER MINT JULEP (GREY LADY, NEW YORK CITY)
At this New England–style oyster and cocktail bar, the classic summertime Mint Julep gets a whimsical, confectionary update with the additions of Galliano, crème de noyaux, crème de menthe and root beer bitters. Crowning the top is a large marshmallow, toasted with a mini blowtorch upon serving.
TIKI TORCH (BEELMAN’S PUB, LOS ANGELES)
This sure isn’t your average frat party shot. At DTLA’s gastropub standby, Vance Daniels’ flaming miniature quaff fortifies three parts Campari with one part overproof rum. A lime wedge garnish is set on fire and dashed with a sprinkle of cinnamon before you throw it all back.
JET PILOT (HALE PELE, PORTLAND, ORE.)
At Portland’s beloved classic Tiki bar, find this variation on Don the Beachcomber’s Test Pilot, which was created by Donn Beach acolyte Mariano Licudine for Mai-Kai’s original 1956 menu. Three rums—gold, overproof and the sweet molasses-blasted black strap variety—are shaken with grapefruit juice, falernum, cinnamon, absinthe and Angostura bitters. Poured over crushed ice in a goblet, the drink is then topped with a floating, flaming lime shell.
SMOKE & SPICE (SPOKE & STEELE, INDIANAPOLIS)
For this earthy recipe, bartender Tyler Burns starts by igniting a cedar plank using a blowtorch. Placing a coupe glass over the top to capture the smoke, he builds the rest of the sweet-and-spicy drink—reposado tequila, amaretto, apple and herb bitters, cayenne pepper—in a beaker, allowing guests to pour its contents into the smoke-filled glass before the first sip.
SOCIAL BANDIT (ANNEX AT GREENRIVER, CHICAGO)
Veteran drinks woman Julia Momose lightens a heady mix of rum, tequila and mezcal with a fruit-forward mistelle de framboise, fragrant vanilla and smoked black peppercorn. The theatrical finish is a spray of absinthe sent through a flame over the glass.
Cool Runnings
The intrigue factor runs high at LSXO, a petite restaurant-within-a-restaurant concept at Spanish-inflected Bluegold in Huntington Beach, California. Here, behind an unmarked door, you can find the Cool Runnings, a citrusy, spiced large-format concoction of vodka, Cognac, lime, pineapple and passionfruit. It’s served in a giant pineapple—because why not?—and ignited tableside.
Playing With Fire
The 1920s-themed speakeasy The Powder Room in Singapore isn’t one for subtlety when it comes to naming its cocktails. Case in point, the Playing With Fire, which is exactly what it sounds like: A flaming coupe of Cognac flavored with spiced dates and warming spices like cinnamon, cloves and star anise.
Goblet of Fire
Also in Singapore—or should we say, Hogwarts?—the Goblet of Fire is, well, a rum-spiked goblet of fire. The recipe, dreamt up by the whimsical minds at Harry Potter-themed restaurant Platform 1094, is purportedly a secret, but we got the down low from a restaurant rep: The drink’s electric hue comes courtesy of blue curaçao, which is tempered with a squirt of lime.
Wandering Samurai
There’s nothing quite like a flaming large format cocktail to work up an appetite for sashimi. At least that’s the guiding principle at Sakerum in Washington, D.C., which serves the Wandering Samurai, an icy rum-and-sake punch infused with yuzu, pineapple, blueberry and bitters. For garnish: a carefully positioned leaf piled with fresh slivers of sashimi. Also, two flaming shots of rum. Our advice: Eat before you drink, unless you want things to get messy.