FLAME ON FLAME OFF: A touch of bar magic in your kitchen

Of all the cool cocktail tricks there is no single technique that has fascinated my guests more than the flaming citrus zests… and it is sooo easy.  Flaming a citrus peel creates a real sensation and your guests will not leave you alone until you teach them how it is done; so pay attention and become an expert!

The garnish is nothing more than a piece of citrus peel cut wide from the skin of a fresh firm navel, Valencia or other thick skinned orange, or a firm thick-skinned lemon. This trick will not work with limes as the skin is too thin and success can be spotty with grapefruits unless you can find really firm, very fresh grapefruit!  The criteria is simple; the effect will not work with thin-skinned citrus fruits since there is simply not enough oil in the skin, nor will it work with thick-skinned fruit that is not fresh because the oil is already gone. Ideally, oil should issue forth in a plume when the zest is squeezed smartly between forefinger and thumb.

To begin:

·         Cut the zests in an oval shape about the size of a quarter and try to keep the white pith to a minimum. Cut the disc or oval so that orange rind still shows all around the perimeter of the garnish piece.

·         To flame the oil, hold a lit match in one hand, and pick up the zest in the other very carefully as if holding an eggshell, if you squeeze the zest prematurely the oil will be expelled.

·         Hold the zest by the sides not the ends, between thumb and forefinger, skin side down facing the surface of the drink about four inches above the drink.

·         Hold the match between the drink and the twist, closer to the twist. Snap the twist sharply, propelling the oil through the lit match and onto the surface of the drink. Be sure to hold twist far enough from the drink (about three inches minimum) to avoid getting a smoky film on the glass or the surface of the drink.

So to get started, let’s make a cocktail that calls for either a zest of lemon, orange or even grapefruit.  I’ll give you a couple of recipes:

RITZ COCKTAIL

Ingredients

.25 ounces Cognac

.25 ounces Cointreau

.25 ounces Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

.15 ounces Fresh Lemon Juice

.75 ounces Moet Chandon Brut Imperial Champagne

Orange zest for flaming

Preparation

Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass except the champagne.  Strain into a martini glass and fill with champagne. Garnish with a flamed orange zest.

To serve this drink for the group, prepare a pitcher containing the first four ingredients. Simply extrapolate the ingredients out over the number of people BUT add the lemon juice last and slowly, as fresh lemon can have a larger impact as the number of drinks is increased and may need to be scaled downward.

To serve an individual drink pour 1.5 ounces of the prepared drink into a shaker ... shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass and then top with champagne. Garnish with the flamed orange zest and serve.

LIGHTNING MARTINI

Ingredients

1 ounce Ciroc Vodka

.5 ounces Godiva White Chocolate

.75 ounces cranberry juice cocktail

.75 ounces fresh orange juice

Orange zest for flaming

Preparation:

Frost the rim of a glass with a mixture of unsweetened cocoa powder and sugar.  Shake all ingredients well with ice and strain into the prepared large martini glass. Flame an orange zest over the top and drop into the drink.

See you next week …enjoy your drinks responsibly and don’t forget to turn the lights out when you leave.

Dale aka kingcocktail