How to Set Your Cocktails On Fire At Home Without Causing Chaos

Let’s say you’ve already perfected your at-home garnish game, or figured out how to make a balanced Martini. Setting your cocktails on fire likely remains an elusive skill, which isn’t exactly surprising — things can quickly go wrong when flames get involved (flambé, anyone?), and not every kitchen or home bar has the space needed to pull this trick off safely. 

We tapped Hadi Ktiri, beverage manager at the Four Seasons in New Orleans, to share how the team at Miss River (one of the hotel’s flagship restaurants) pulls off a flaming Espresso Martini. Read on for Ktiri’s tips on how to make stunning, fiery drinks from the comfort of your own kitchen.

Grab your tools: An orange peel, cloves, rum, and a metal skewer

To make Miss River’s flaming Espresso Martini, bartenders first slice an orange peel (using a Y-peeler) and insert cloves every one-inch. Then, the peel is soaked in Plantation O.F.T.D, an aged, overproof Jamaican rum. Skewer the clove-studded peel and let it rest on the rim of the glass; when it starts to catch fire, it’ll release both clove and orange oil aromas. Don’t use flammable bamboo or plastic skewers to hold your clove-studded orange peel — metal is the way to go.

While clove-studded orange peels are a favorite for the Miss River team, Ktiri encourages home bartenders to branch out into other citrus, like grapefruit peels, which you can soak with an overproof bourbon like Booker’s. 

The temperature of your booze matters

Unless you’re using very high-proof alcohol — which Ktiri doesn’t recommend, for safety reasons we’ll discuss later on — cold alcohol won’t light on fire. “If you were to float rum or whiskey over the top of a drink, not only would it not light up, you’d get a mouthful of liquor as the first taste,” he explains. The higher the proof, the easier that alcohol will be to light at a cooler temp. Spirits that are 140 to 160 proof can catch on fire at room temp.” As the proof gets lower, towards 80 proof or wine, you have to start to heat it up so alcohol will evaporate more readily,” he adds.

Don’t use Everclear to light your drinks on fire

While it might be tempting to use the highest-proof alcohol you can find to get the biggest, boldest flame on your drinks, take a minute to evaluate the drawbacks. “I would hesitate to go over 160-proof — it’s too volatile. The flame will go up and out really quickly, and it’s just harder to control,” Ktiri notes.

Yes, you can set drinks on fire in batches

If you’re a fan of prepping as much as you can before hosting guests for a cocktail party or dinner, you can pre-skewer clove-studded orange peels and soak them in a rocks glass filled with an overproof spirit for 10 to 30 minutes. Don’t try preparing this part overnight, as the citrus will start to break down if left in .

For extra style points, use cinnamon sugar

Keep a salt and pepper shaker filled with a 1:1 mixture of cinnamon and sugar on hand for when you’re setting drinks on fire. Sprinkle a little on top of the orange peel after lighting it on fire, and watch the sparkles go — plus, you’ll get an extra-sweet aroma on top of the glass, which adds more complexity to the cocktail.