There’s something mesmerising a Blue Blazer, the simple combination of whisky, water and sugar which is set ablaze on fire.
Blue Blazer – Photo © Cocktails & Bars
Essentially a flamed Hot Toddy, the Blue Blazer is a mixture of whisky, water and sugar set ablaze on fire and transferred between two silver-plated mugs with handles creating the appearance of a continued stream of liquid fire.
The origins of the Blue Blazer are attributed to Jerry Thomas who created the flaming whisky cocktail while he was working at the El Dorado, a gambling saloon in San Francisco. No doubt cocktail enthusiasts are familiar with the illustration in Jerry Thomas’ Bartenders Guide: How To Mix Drinks A Bon Vivant’s Companion 1862, a graphic that has appeared in several cocktail menus including Eau de Vie bar in Sydney.
In The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), Henry Craddock states,
The Blue Blazer does not have a very euphonious or classic name, but it tastes better to the palate than it sounds to the ear. A beholder gazing for the first time upon an experienced artist compounding this beverage, would naturally come to the conclusion that it was a nectar for Pluto rather than Bacchus.
As it involves fire, for safety reasons, this is no doubt a cocktail best left to the professionals rather than the home bartender. For education purposes, here is the recipe and method.
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Blue Blazer Recipe
Adapted from The Savoy Cocktail Book
Ingredients
- 45ml whisky
- 45ml boiling water
- 1 barspoon white granular sugar
Equipment: 2 large silver-plated mugs or tankards with handles
Glassware: snifter glass
Garnish: a piece of lemon peel
Method
Put the whisky in one mug and the water in the other.
Ignite the whisky with fire and while it’s blazing, mix the ingredients by pouring them four or five times from one mug to another.
Start with the mugs close together then increase the distance as you go creating a large stream of blue fire from one mug to the other.
Add one barspoon of sugar and stir.
Serve in a snifter glass and garnish with a piece of lemon peel.
