Every calendar week , we harness the weirdest recipe we can find inJerry Thomas ’s Bartenders Guide . sour out they did things differently back then .
Note : This formula call for fervidness . Do not make this at home . This should only be attempted by professional person and then only in the presence of right fire safety equipment .
We thought Recipe 68 , “ Tea Punch , ” would be well-heeled . Pleasant even . A quaint spiked infusion or a proto - Long Island Iced Tea , who know . Did n’t matter though . The first rule of the Bartender ’s Guide is to never doubt the Bartender ’s Guide ( or Jerry Thomas for that subject ) .
footfall one was make an “ extract of the best dark-green teatime , ” with an “ oz. of tea to a quart of stewing water . ” No problem . We steeped it and put it away .
The next step was to combine a short and sweet list of ingredients in a disjoined , heated punchbowl . None of these were to a fault strange or hard to procure : half a dry pint of rummy ( we went with Hamilton 151 Demerara ) , half a dry pint of “ undecomposed brandy ” ( we used Pierre Ferrand Premier Cru ) , a one-quarter pound of raw lump sugar and the succus of one stinker . We added everything to our trusty alloy punchbowl . So far so good .
The next instruction : “ SET THESE ALIGHT . ” Oh dear .
On this point , the merry barkeeper proffer this advice : “ This punch may be made in a china bowl , but in that case the fire goes off more rapidly . ” Apparently using a silver or alloy bowl entail the punch would “ remain burning for some clock time . ”
splendid . Jerry Thomas was trying to pour down us .
We procured the retentive butane lighter we could incur , dimmed the igniter , took a rich breather and click it on . This was when we rename Recipe 68 .
It would no longer be known as Tea Punch . It shall henceforth be called The Flaming Napalm Death Punch .
The flame was gigantic and terrifying , and we are favourable we have any eyebrows leave .
The instruction manual next called for the tea leaf to be poured into the fucking booze . Jerry Thomas did not specify whether or not this should require burning off all your arm hairsbreadth , so we go ahead and burned off all of our arm hair .
When the tea hit the flaming liquid in the bowl , the flame leapt up , unfold above of the sports stadium . We double break that there was a fire asphyxiator in the room . You do n’t want to be the hombre that burns down the situation . Even for Jerry Thomas .
As the bowl and its contents were engulfed in red region , Jerry instruct us to mix the punch with a large metallic element ladle by lifting and rain buckets the flaming liquid . Hey , we ’d already said goodbye to our arm fuzz , so why not ?
Your first time heft up a ladleful of flaming - dripping napalm dying is a memorable one . A twist of the wrist produces a three - invertebrate foot high pillar of fire between your ladle and the bowlful . This bears repeat . We made a three - foot high editorial of fluid fire in our office .
After a few pours , we catch more surefooted . It was as gentle as riding a motorcycle that ’s on flak .
The longer the punch stayed ignited , the hotter the bowl , ladle and punch all became . The lump sugar caramelized under the fire and the unincorporated sugar bind to the incline of the pipe bowl , melting into a black , gooey ash . The flaming dying punch stay light up for more than 10 minute of arc with no house of wavering . It was clock time to attend .
The book admonished the maker to assist the punch while still flame . So we pour out the molten liquid state into alloy Julep tins ( JT called for “ glasses , ” but we did n’t need to gamble a fiery crack - up from the intense hotness ) . To our relief , when separated from the punchbowl , the individual servings quickly misplace their flame . But our punch was still burning , and Jerry did n’t entrust any instruction manual for lay it out .
eventually , the safest path we could conceive was to cover the sports stadium with a flat , alloy baking canvass , depriving the flak of atomic number 8 and snuffing it out . It was clip to taste .
Though the poke was piping spicy , we obtain a few gulps down . The drink savor like melted rock confect mixed with refined sugar crack , bolster by a wallop of overproof rum and a long strong finish of caramelize baking spices .
certain , a one-fourth pound of raw clams may seem like overkill for 16 ounce of alcohol and one lemon . But we are not ones for one-half measures . Still , we could feel our tooth rotting over the course of a single mug .
Even under the gelid permafrost of our billet ’s overachieving air conditioning system , the crapulence ’s scalding temperature was too much heat . We suggest you reserve this bad female parent for the coldest chapters of winter . Unless you need to scare away your neighbors , relatives or in - laws . We ’ve done someweirdstuffat the Jerry Thomas Experiment , but this was the first clip we were really scared we might incinerate our office .
