My girlfriend and I are sitting around trying to figure out how to make spanish coffee, and none of the sites I can find list the most important ingrediant, fire. Does anyone know how to make a proper spanish coffee, with fire and everything? Or any other drinks that you get to burn while mixing?
Many drinks can be lit afire, but I offer two cautions:
A. It’s the alcohol, and some of the sugar, that burns. The result will be a drink that has less kick and won’t be as sweet.
B.Some glasses may fracture with the heat, leaving you with a lapful of flaming booze.
That’s a neat trick … imbibing alcohol and playing with fire. What do you do for an encore, pop a few valium then juggle chainsaws?
“Vodka” (ethanol/water mix) starts to burn in a glass at 70%w/v (and up). But at 70% it’s hard to start, got to be room T or tepid. Try it first flameless, then proceed. I do not know if sugar will make it more flamemable (or is it burnable?). I would not like the taste, though.
Peace
[just a slight hijack]
When I was in the Boy Scouts, we’d go to summer camp for 1 or 2 weeks every summer. One year when some of us were around 16, we managed to get an older kid from the local town to buy us some Scotch. That night, we mixed it in a pitcher of Kool-Aid (not too bad, actually), and passed out on our cots. We were in those big stand up tents that held 4.
Oh yeah, we fell asleep with a candle burning on a plastic milk crate.
After the candle had melted down, I managed to wake up just in time to find the corner of the milk crate in flames about 3 feet high. In my stupor, I knew I had to put the fire out, but with what? Hey, there’s a pitcher of Kool-Aid over here. That’ll work!
WHOOSH!
Bad choice. Even worse to fan at the flames with your bare hand (I’m drunk, remember?). I caught the corner of the milk crate and got burning plastic stuck to my finger. Here’s a little tip for you all: DON’T EVER DO THAT!!!
Sorry, that’s my only experience with getting a drink to burn.
What?
That’s like 140 proof. Are you saying that 80 proof vodka wouldn’t burn? When my mom douses her christmas pudding in brandy (about 80 proof) and lights it on fire, it seems to burn pretty well.
Where did this 70% figure come from?
Doug, it comes from experimentation.
It’s hard to come by 190 proof ethanol. You may try drugstore isopropyl brand. It’s pretty close. It’s sold as 70%w/v or so. It readely burns on a swab, spilled on a napkin, etc. I guess your mom cake will burn if soaked in it (do not spoil the cake, though!). But as a body of fluid, in a glass, it won’t readily burn, especially if cooled/refrigerated.
My guess (no experimental evidence): if you spray regular 80 proof vodka from a spray-bottle, you’ll probably will be able to get “the flame” out of the nozzle. I ain’t a physicist, but I guess it has something to do with the mass participating in the reaction and the amount of generated heat. Like when you are in 180 degree sauna, wearing a watch: you do not get burned, the “atomized” air is 180degrees, but not the solid metal watch.
Peace
I am looking for my absinthe & fire recipe. (No booze & MadPoet thread is going to go unanswered by me!)
As a former professional mixologist I can say with certainty that ANY alcohol over 90 proof (that’s 45%, peace) will burn in a shot glass. Furthermore, any alcohol over 60 proof (30%, peace) will burn if previously heated in a microwave.
70% alcohol (140 proof) vodka is NOT difficult to set alight.
190 proof ethanol is NOT difficult to come by, ever heard of Everclear? 190 proof, right out of the bottle.
Isopropyl alcohol is NOT ethanol.
and the word is flammable.
In short, peace you haven’t a clue.
I should add that lighting a beverage is a very dangerous practice and should never be done.
Back in the day we used to do Flaming Zambooka (not sure of the spelling, they were strange days) shots.
One takes the shot glass, sets it on fire, then quickly presses their had over the top of the glass so it seals.
The fire (which feels kinda cool after three of four of these) creates enough of a low-pressure system inside the glass that it will stay stuck to your hand when you lift it.
Then (carefully) shake your hand with the glass, gently remove the glass, inhale the whatever it is that burns off this stuff, and take the shot.
Best drink i’ve ever had, beats the Jamaican Flaming Coffee hands down
Upham
As a former professional mixologist
What did they pay you?
I can say with certainty that ANY alcohol over 90 proof (that’s 45%, peace) will burn in a shot glass. Furthermore, any alcohol over 60 proof (30%, peace) will burn if previously heated in a microwave.
I do not know what is meant by “ANY”. As far as I know, “proof” is not a chemical term, does not apply to other alcohols, but I am not a chemist. If we are talking ethanol, it’s got to be at least at room T, to ignite. Practically, It will extinguish a match. A shot of gasoline (car fuel, 87-94 octane, from pump) will burst into flames.
190 proof ethanol is NOT difficult to come by, ever heard of Everclear? 190 proof, right out of the bottle.
No. It is not sold in my state.
Isopropyl alcohol is NOT ethanol.
I know. I am not a chemist, but I know that much. It’s branched propyl alcohol, I cannot draw its structural formula here.
and the word is flammable.
Tx, I will try to memorize.
In short, peace you haven’t a clue.
I do. In my younger days I drank straight 190 proof (95.6%) ethanol, flaming. Did not like it. Ethanol is much better as Absolut or Stoly or…, on the rocks, or… whatever you prefer. And let leave cheap effects to cakes. The stuff is good as is.
As a former professional mixologist
What did they pay you?
I can say with certainty that ANY alcohol over 90 proof (that’s 45%, peace) will burn in a shot glass. Furthermore, any alcohol over 60 proof (30%, peace) will burn if previously heated in a microwave.
I do not know what is meant by “ANY”. As far as I know “proof” is not a chemical term, does not apply to other alcohols, but I am not a chemist. If we are talking ethanol, it’s got to be at least at room T, to ignite. Practically, It will extinguish a match. A shot of gasoline (car fuel, 87-94 octane, from pump) will burst into flames.
190 proof ethanol is NOT difficult to come by, ever heard of Everclear? 190 proof, right out of the bottle.
No. It is not sold in my state.
Isopropyl alcohol is NOT ethanol.
I know. I am not a chemist, but I know that much. It’s branched propyl alcohol, I cannot draw its structural formula here.
and the word is flammable.
Tx, I will try to memorize.
In short, peace you haven’t a clue.
I do. In my younger days I drank straight 190 proof (95.6%) ethanol, flaming. Did not like it. Ethanol is much better as Absolut or Stoly or…, on the rocks, or… whatever you prefer. And let leave cheap effects to cakes. The stuff is good as is.
I should add that lighting a beverage is a very dangerous practice and should never be done.
But we are talking experiments, not drunken fun, righr?
Peace
Yes, peace, “proof” is a very precisely defined term, although not commonly used by chemists. By the current definition, the proof of a drink (any drink, not just vodka) is equal to twice the percentage of ethanol by volume. By the original (approximately equivalent) definition, 100 proof was defined as the proportion of alcohol in a drink which would make that drink flammable, and the rest of the scale was calibrated accordingly. By the way, liquid gasoline will also extinguish matches, if you immerse the match quickly enough that it doesn’t boil off fumes (just like with alcohol).
Chronos, I do not want to argue with a mod about something I am not an expert in. If you say that “proof” is in chemistry, be it. My dictionaries say that “proof” relates to alcohol and beverages only. I do not see why chemists wanted to confuse themselves with doubling the numbers (to distinguish between w/v and w/w or v/v?). I can see why the booze industry would do it, but, again, I think you are right.
Peace
What?! My God!! :eek: You’re advocating using rubbing alcohol to make Spanish coffee? :eek:
Chief Wahoo then points out, correctly:
Isopropyl alcohol is NOT ethanol.
And then peace says:
Jiminy Christmas and Lord Love A Duck! Nobody cares about its structural formula, peace! Get a reality check, right away! :eek: I am not a chemist either, but I sure do know that isopropyl alcohol is rubbing alcohol and is generally considered toxic, not “fun” toxic as in, “Oh, yeah, alcohol is the toxic drug of choice”, I mean, “toxic” as in “poisonous”, as in “when your kid drinks some of it you rush him to the emergency room.”
http://www.embbs.com/cr/alc/alc5.html
We’re here to Fight Ignorance, not promote it. Bad puppy. No biscuit. 
Duck, I am sorry. I did not mean to say that isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol)=ethanol. I meant it could be used for burning experiments. And do not drink any alcoholic beverages, while experimenting. Isopropanol is for rubbing, cleaning (keyboard, mouse), etc. Ethanol is for lab burners, can be used as a solvent, surface disinfectant, etc. Vodka is for drinking. Ethanol can be toxic in large doses (as vodka, too). Isopropanol (and other alcohols) are inebriating to varios extends and are toxic in small doses. Never drink them.
Peace
Whew! [wipes sweat from brow] You scared me for a minute there. I thought, “Geez, don’t drink the punch at Peace’s house, you’ll end up in the hospital…” :rolleyes:
“Everclear” is just a brand name for what’s also known as “grain alcohol”. It’s a basic bartender’s ingredient. It’s a good mixer because it has no flavor of its own. What benighted corner of the United States do you inhabit, that the local liquor stores don’t have something so basic available to consumers? All I can think of would be Utah, but I know they do have the State Liquor store there. They don’t sell grain alcohol?
And to address the OP: have the coffee really hot; heat the alcohol (whatever you’re using) in a little stainless steel pan, then add it to the coffee and ignite it. Do NOT use a glass punch cup for this; you need something heavier, like stoneware. You shouldn’t have any trouble getting it to burn, if both the coffee and the alcohol are hot, but you know, it’s not going to go up WHOOSH like that. It’s going to burn very quietly, a blue flame on top of the coffee barely perceptible in daylight. I’ve never been really sure of what the point is, myself.
Of course, I dunno how they do it at the expensive restaurants. If they have it so it goes up WHOOSH while they’re mixing it, (is that what you’re saying?) then they must be adding grain alcohol to boost the effect. Show business, feh.
You refuse to give any kind of information about yourself or your credentials, but demand to know how much money another poster made? How the fuck dare you?!? And more importantly, what in the HELL does his salary have to do with any fucking thing???
… yet, Peace, you still see fit to correct a “professional mixologist” speaking “with certainty” and tell him he’s wrong, based on no facts whatsoever? Based only on your experiences as a lad with alcohol many moons ago and a few transparently quick web searches? You grab a couple of esoteric sounding bites, and consistently brandish them around as if none of us realize what you are doing, which is using a factual plankton to make yourself appear to know what you are talking about, when in point of fact (I hate to break this to ya, buddy) you do not. I highly doubt anybody here believes you could have drawn the structure of isopropyl if you wanted to.
Hmm, let’s see. Either he’s referring to any type of ethanol (since most of the discussion was about vodka only), or he was referring to different types of alcohol, which wouldn’t be too odd considering YOU BROUGHT UP ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL OUT OF THE BLUE!!!
So you don’t know anything about it, yet
and added on top of that the fact that in the What is Vodka thread, Badtz Maru brought up Everclear specifically, as 95% ethanol. Okay fine, maybe you didn’t read the post (which wouldn’t be very out of character), but you responded to him and called him “brave” for having drank it! High proof ethanol is easy to get most places, your made-up facts notwithstanding.
Peace, you speak more here of your credentials than I ever could.
Dammit, I just came into this thread to mention Drambouie (sp?), drank in the same way Upham’s Flaming Zambookas are. Wait, I just said Zambooka out loud. Could it have been Sambouca again, sp?)
Jb_farley, are you drunk?
When I say something straight, you accuse me of being arrogant. When I say that I am not a chemist, you say: ” Then shut up, boy, when big guys are talking!”
I make a tongue-in-cheek remark (“What was your pay?”) and you ask me about my credentials and worry about another guy privacy? Let me remind you: this is the web. If you want to talk to real people, you can do it at home, you do not have to come here. Here I’ll say what I want. If you do not like it, do not read it. Or take it to the Pit, but remember that I do not have to read your posts. Or answer you.
So, once again: I do not care if he is a “professional mixologist”, a part-time bartender, or a Nobel prize laureate in chemistry. I tell about what I know.
And I do not know about many things. If you noticed, I am only in a few threads. I am not in 99% of them, because I do not know much about them or I am not interested. So, I am mum.
I complimented BM because I knew too well what he drank. Most people here (and in life) have no idea.
I’ve heard that 95% grain alcohol is sold in MD. I was in MA at the time. It was not sold there then. I never saw it on store shelves in any state I was in. OTOH, I never looked for it specifically, but I have no doubt that I hear the truth here.
Finally, I know of two kinds of Bloody Mary (tomato juice & vodka): a mixed kind and a layered kind (they may have different names for them locally, eh, Chief?). I know that when I make the latter, I have to be very careful not to pour vodka to rapidly on top of the juice, otherwise, they’ll mix. Is this true for coffee too? ‘Coz if they mix, the booze will not burn. Is it right, Duck?
Peace
Just to be clear, no, you do not. peace, this is not “just the web.” Here at the Straight Dope, we seek to eradicate ignorance. To do that, we have to be convinced that everyone is posting in good faith.
This is not the first time you have tried to kill our customers with bad advice, and I will have no more of it.
From this point forward, you will post in good faith, as if you were answering a question from your mother or best friend.
This is an instruction, not a request.