Trail Blazer

Tim from Colorado heps us to this tale of David Wondridge confronting his fear of The Blue Blazer:

There are a few drinks that I love, lots that I like, and a great many that I despise. But there's only one that I fear--not because it's strong or because it tastes nasty. Nothing's stronger than Everclear, and I've done shots of that, and nothing's nastier than Thai centipede wine, and I've choked that down. No, I fear the blue blazer because to make it you have to pour a long stream of flaming Scotch whisky back and forth several times between a pair of metal mugs, all the while looking like this is the sort of thing you do every day.

Actually it sounds like a rather typical Saturday night in JB's basement.

Wondridge discovers that just because there's heat, it doesn't mean there's light.

Okay, so it turns out that when you're done mixing this example of Gold Rush-era recklessness, when the flames are out and the mugs are cooling, all you're really left with is a Scotch toddy--a fine drink, to be sure, for those who like hot Scotch with sugar and lemon, but hardly something to do handstands over. When you're mixing it, though...Let's just say that not an eye in the house--and there's no point in making blue blazers if nobody's watching--will be looking at anything else.

If you're interested, here's the recipe:

To Make Blue Blazers for 4

Equipment:

2 metal pint mugs with handles and flaring rims

Ingredients:

1 bottle cask-strength single-malt Scotch, such as Laphroaig, the Glenlivet Nadurra, or the Macallan
4 tsp Demerara sugar or Sugar in the Raw
4 1-inch strips of thinly cut lemon peel

There's actually a fourteen step process to brew the cocktail. It seems like a lot of work (and a questionable usage of fine Scotch) for rather little reward.