Flaming shot !!

Looking for a way to take your drink-making skills to the next level ?

There are many good ways to bring flame into your party and impress your friends.

 

Let's start with the basics ... why drinking a flaming shot ?

 

- For the flavour : Indeed, burning alcohol will condense the flavours to make the drink's taste richer and deeper. For example for a Flaming Doctor Pepper shot, the burning caramelises the taste of the amaretto, and gives the drink its signature flavour.

 

 

- The Warmth : Setting things on fire makes them warmer, right? It's winter time, and we've already seen how to make a mulled wine with Anne So, flaming shot is a funny way to warm your body .

 

  

- The Show : Obviously the big one. The lighting of the drink is pure showmanship: fire is exciting and can really start the party.

Now, let's try with the classic flaming shot : Flaming Doctor Pepper

Ingredients:
Beer
Amaretto
Overproof rum
Pint glass
Shot glass

• Fill a pint glass 1/2-3/4 full of beer;
• Fill a shot glass ¾ full with amaretto;
• Float ¼ rum over the top of the amaretto;
• Light rum, allow it to burn for several seconds;
• Drop flaming shot into the beer, chug contents;
• You can also blow the shot out prior to dropping in the beer.

By following the steps outlined above, you too can master the flaming drink !

Well, don't forget that you are drinking something that is burning ...this man below will certainly remember the flaming shot experience...

 

The CO-COCKTAIL !

Thanks to last week’s post you are a really talented bartender and you are now literally able to juggle with rum, vodka and whisky without any risk! Right?!

Well if you don’t feel yet that confident, you should watch this amazing video! It will encourage you a lot to get trained to reach the level of this guy! He is absolutely INCREDIBLE! He really deserves a cocktail award…

Amazing isn’t it?

He may have been training for tons of hours to be skilful as he is now. Hard to pretend we are capable to do the same in the blink of an eye. So let’s start with simple movements to make delicious cocktails.

To be back to our wine cocktails, here is a very interesting one with Cognac! As you may know, Cognac is a spirit, more precisely an eau-de-vie which is made with grape juice. The strong alcohol degree is produced thanks to the distillation which takes off water from the juice. The more you distil, the less you have water so you obtain a higher level of alcohol.

To drink Cognac you don’t need to be a fifty year old man smoking a big Montecristo near the chimney!

 A friend of mine coming from the Cognac area uses to mix Cognac with a bit of Schweppes Agrum… sounds weird? But actually it’s nice! Just to change from the boring Coke-Vodka or the too sweet Mojito.

But there is even a better way to drink Cognac! Easy-to-prepare and above all: easy-to-drink! You just have to make a cocktail with your Cognac: it is easy, trendy, chic, tasty… WHAT ELSE?

Here is the video of a young bartender who’s making a very good looking cocktail with Hennessy Fine de Cognac. “it is simple & elegant…” This is quite original because he is mixing Cognac with tea…

What to do you think about the idea? Personally I think this is tremendous, and that it can definitelly change your vision of afternoon tea! 

The flair bartending ... What is this crazy thing ??

We have spoken about recipes , bartenders, hangovers cocktails… but some bartenders have an other passion in relation with cocktails… THE FLAIR …

Flair bartending is the practice of bartenders entertaining guests, clientele or audiences with the manipulation of bar tools and liquor bottles in tricky, dazzling ways. 

Used occasionally in cocktail bars, the action requires skills associated with jugglers. It has become a sought-after talent among venue owners and marketers to help advertise a liquor product or the opening of a bar establishment.

Competitions have been sponsored by liquor brands to attract flair bartenders, and some hospitality training companies hold courses to teach flair techniques.

Flair is a way of working that has existed for over 150 years. The legendary bartender Jerry "The Professor" Thomas used it every time he was preparing his Blue Blazer, pouring flaming scotch and water from a pot to another, creating a fiery cascade. All bartenders have taken two bottles in one hand have the flair. 

Flair is accessible for everybody i let you a video 

with some tips to begin.

Firenze cocktails!

Ciao tutti !

I have the incredible chance to be on holidays in Italy, more precisely in Florence, the capital of the Toscan region and the city is considered as the birthplace of Renaissance…

Of course we tasted la pasta, as well as pizzas, visited the Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo, ate some fabulous ice creams : as (french) tourists in a foreign city of Italy.


And what about alcohol ? How not to taste some wines, typical alcohol or … cocktails ?

Hence this article for you : you will be in immersion in Firenze, by reading the following text or by tasting the drinks…

Enjoy !

With the participation of my friends, we tasted some drinks :

The first one : The americano at the Volume Bar, next to the Piazza Santo Spirito

A classic and famous one. Invented by Gaspare Campari in Italy in 1860, this cocktail is made of Vermouth (the soft one, it is made with white wine), Campari and gaz water , you can add some orange or lemon, as your convenience. Nice color isn’t it ??

If you don’t like the bitter taste, you will mostly prefer the next cocktails ! I’ve particularly enjoyed this cocktail, especially that the bartender let me taste the Vermouth before drinking the cocktail.

The Prosecco at Le Volpi e L’Uva, next to the piazza Santo Rossi

Another famous italian cocktail . After a wonderful evening spent in a wine bar, tasting some amazing italian wines, we wanted to finish the night with a soft, tasty and refreshing drink . The Prosecco wine was the perfect choice ! Guided by the owner of the bar, my friends decided to taste a Prosecco with a strawberry liqueur, I choose another sparkling wine a Franciacorta Saten from Camossi, without adding something in it...

Both wines were great and refreshing, for sure perfect choices to end a night...