- ¾ ounce black rum – regular strength black rum; we’ll get to the overproof stuff in a couple of minutes
- ¾ ounce Cynar – this is one of those low-octane, bitter Italian liqueurs that old men drink out of tiny glasses outside cafes in little alpine villages; as with most of these old-man liqueurs, it’s made with more than a dozen secret herbs, but because the label on the bottle has a giant picture of an artichoke on it, it’s a pretty good guess what one of them is
- ¾ ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
- ½ ounce ginger syrup (see below)
- ¼ ounce simple syrup
- An orange slice – preferably one just big enough to cover the top of a rocks glass without falling into it.
- A slug of overproof (151) rum
This is a presentation cocktail. It is like the trick of pulling the tablecloth out from under the dishes, but with flaming alcohol.
Start by making some ginger syrup. There are two ways of going about this:
(1) Add sugar to fresh squeezed ginger juice and simmer it briefly, until the sugar dissolves entirely into saturation, then cool it and store it in your refrigerator. This will be a powerful, spicy, slightly bitter syrup that will knock you back on your heels. The problem is that you will need a good vegetable juicer, which not everyone has lying around. If you do, you’ll need to juice about a pound of fresh ginger, and your kitchen will smell overwhelmingly of ginger for half an hour or so. Not that that is a bad thing.
(2) Alternatively, you can shred a large hand (that’s what the big clumps of ginger root you get at the grocery store are called) on a box grater. Bring it to a boil with a cup or so of sugar and an equal amount of water. Stir it well, to make certain that everything has gotten thoroughly mixed together, then take it off the heat, cover it, and leave it all day, or overnight. Strain it through a fine-mesh strainer, then squeeze the remaining ginger pulp in a tea towel, to get the last of the ginger juice out of it. Bottle and refrigerate it. This will be a gentler, more civilized ginger syrup that will work just as well but won’t carry as much street cred as the more serious stuff.
Now, assuming that you’ve gone to the liquor store, and made your syrups, and sliced an orange, all you need to do is find a rocks glass and make sure you have matches or a lighter on hand.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all the ingredients, except the overproof rum and the orange slice, to the shaker, and shake vigorously for a full minute. Strain it into the rocks glass with no ice. Cover the glass with the orange slice, and pour a slug of 151 onto it.
Quickly but without panic, light the orange on fire. There will be a delicate blue flame and the smell of grilling citrus.
Turn the lights down but not completely out, and take half a dozen pictures of your flaming drink. When you’re done, turn the lights back up and blow on the orange to put it out. Stuff the orange slice into your drink, and top it off with two or three ice cubes. Swirl it around a few times to chill everything back down, then drink it in silence.
In spite of this drink’s dramatic presentation and name, it is surprisingly delicate, a balance of sweet syrups and rum and the bitterness from the Cynar. The ginger is not overwhelming but is definitely there, adding to the depth of flavor.
This is a drink that demands confidence to make, but once you have, it murmurs encouragement to you and reminds you of how competent and good-looking you are.
Featured Photo: Photo by John Fladd.