Got Garnish? Take a Torch to It
Finally, a place to put your pent-up pyro tendencies: cocktails. Torching instead of twisting soothes your firestarter habits and ups your bartending skills at the same time.
If you’ve got an itch to set things on fire, we’ve got a “healthy” hobby for you: mixology. Specifically, flamed garnish, which by no means is new, but more a sleek technique reincarnated from speakeasy days.
Scorch citrus rinds to heighten cocktail sips
If you’re looking to get oohs and aahs from skyscraping flames, basically anything with oils will work (think citrus).
Here’s the how to …
Step 1: Shave off a fat slab of citrus rind (sans pith, please).
Step 2: Give peel a twist to release oils.
Step 3: Use a match (or kitchen torch if you’re bold and in a flame-retardant suit) to light the oils.
If nothing else, you’ve got a somewhat-cool party trick, like spoon-on-the-nose or make-the-dollar-disappear, but updated for 2010.
The Big Tang-O
Here’s one way we like to serve our flamed garnish:
The Big Tang-O
- 1 part rye or gin
- 1/2 part Triple Sec
- 1/2 part tangerine juice
- 2 dashes Fee Brothers orange bitters
- Shake, serve up.
- Garnish with flamed tangerine rind. We’re serving in this old-school low ball that allows sippers to hold their smoke in the same hand as their drink — trés 1930s bad girl!
We’re starting with citrus, the bartending stand-by and moving on to nuts, shredded coconut and foam. [Insert obvious play on words like "we're on fire" here...]
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