The backdraft is a

cocktail A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely acr ...

that is noted for its elaborate preparation and potency. Named after the

backdraft A backdraft (North American English) or backdraught (British English) is the abrupt burning of superheated gasses in a fire, caused when oxygen rapidly enters a hot, oxygen-depleted environment; for example, when a window or door to an enclosed s ...

which occurs in some fire situations, this drink produces a similar condition on purpose using flammable alcoholic drinks and an enclosing container, such as an upside down pint glass. Below is a typical procedure for producing one variation of the backdraft drink. The combination of warm alcohol, followed by inhaling vaporized alcohol, and then finishing with a highly spiced warm alcohol, makes the drinking of this drink difficult, and while it tends not to have an immediate effect (since it is drunk quickly), the warmth of the alcohol and the vapor, make the

concentration In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', '' molar concentration'', '' number concentration'' ...

and absorption of

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

into the bloodstream quicker than other drinks, and produces a more profound impact. The procedure listed below is a typical illustration of how the drink is presented, and the steps used to produce the

effect. The alcohols listed can be substituted with others, as there are various recipes. However, the steps of this procedure are required to be taken in this order to produce what is known as a classic backdraft drink.

Classical backdraft preparation

A classic backdraft is prepared by pouring equal amounts of

Drambuie Drambuie is a golden-coloured, 40% ABV liqueur made from Scotch whisky, heather honey, herbs and spices. The brand was owned by the MacKinnon family for 100 years, and was bought by William Grant & Sons in 2014. Etymology The name "Drambui ...

and

Grand Marnier Grand Marnier () is a French brand of liqueurs. The brand's best-known product is Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge, an orange-flavored liqueur created in 1880 by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle. It is made from a blend of Cognac brandy, distilled essen ...

into a

snifter A snifter (also called brandy snifter, brandy glass, brandy bowl, or a cognac glass) is a type of stemware, a short-stemmed glass whose vessel has a wide bottom and a relatively narrow top. It is mostly used to serve aged brown liquors such as ...

.Drinknation.com: Backdraft recipe
/ref> The mixture is set alight, and after a few seconds, extinguished by having the imbiber seal the top of the glass with their hand, although often a coaster or saucer is used instead. Once the flame is out, a straw is inserted, keeping as much of the seal intact as possible to contain the vapors. Both the liquid and the vapors are then consumed through the straw. Drambuie and Grand Marnier will be extremely difficult to ignite, if not impossible, so backdrafts are commonly done with 1 part Grand Marnier and 1 part

151 Year 151 (CLI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Condianus and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 904 ''Ab urbe cond ...

Alternate "shooter" backdraft preparation

The procedure is as follows: #A

saucer A saucer is a type of small dishware. While in the Middle Ages a saucer was used for serving condiments and sauces, currently the term is used to denote a small plate or shallow bowl that supports a cup – usually one used to serve coffee ...

is placed on a counter or table. #A

shot glass A shot glass is a glass originally designed to hold or measure spirits or liquor, which is either imbibed straight from the glass ("a shot") or poured into a cocktail ("a drink"). An alcoholic beverage served in a shot glass and typically cons ...

is placed in the center of the saucer, filled with

Sambuca Sambuca () is an Italian anise-flavoured, usually colourless, liqueur. Its most common variety is often referred to as ''white sambuca'' to differentiate it from other varieties that are deep blue (''black sambuca'') or bright red (''red samb ...

pint glass A pint glass is a form of drinkware made to hold either a British imperial pint of or an American pint of . Other definitions also exist, see below. These glasses are typically used to serve beer, and also often for cider. Current shapes ...

is filled with 1–2 shots of

Cointreau Cointreau (, , ) is a brand of orange-flavoured triple sec liqueur produced in Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, France. It is consumed as an apéritif and digestif, and is a component of several well-known cocktails. It was originally called Curaça ...

. Swirl this in the glass to coat the sides #The Cointreau is lit and allowed to burn until the sides of the glass become warm to the touch #The lit Cointreau is poured into the shot glass, igniting the Sambuca #

Cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, brea ...

(or

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in di ...

in the case of a pepperdraft) is sprinkled into the flaming alcohol from about 1/3 of a meter (1 foot) above the shot glass. The finely powdered spice will ignite in the flame.

Important: All the while the pint glass must be kept upside down above the flames to catch the alcohol vapor coming off the burning liquids.

#When approximately 3-6 good shakes of cinnamon have been dispensed, the pint glass is lowered over the flaming liquid.

Note: the liquid on the outside of the inverted pint glass will still burn and needs to be gently blown out. The upside down pint glass is smaller than the coffee cup saucer, and will thus seal to the saucer extinguishing the flames inside

#As the alcohol cools inside the pint glass it will try to suck the alcohol on the outside back into the upside down pint glass. This

effect is the origin of the drink's name. #The pint glass is removed and 2–3

ice cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be p ...

s are placed into it. The opening of the pint glass is immediately sealed with the palm of the bartender's

hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each " ...

. #The pint glass is shaken: this has the effect of cooling the alcohol vapors and causing them to condense on the ice cubes, the walls of the glass and the air inside the glass. #Preparation is now complete. The drinker first downs the shot or drinks it through a straw. Then the straw is slipped through the bartender's fingers into the pint glass, whereby the drinker "drinks" the condensed alcohol - actually mainly inhaling the alcohol vapors inside the glass. Finally, the drinker uses the straw to suck up the spirits which have collected in the saucer. The combination of ingested and inhaled alcohol makes this drink extremely potent. The ice cubes (and the layer of condensed alcohol on them) may be eaten if desired.

Backdraft physics

When a gas is heated, its volume increases. It will displace cooler gases as it expands. If this is done in a partially enclosed space, and the vessel allowed to be full of hot gas, when the heat is taken away, the gases cool and as they do, the amount of liquids that the gas can hold will decrease. Therefore, most of the moisture and alcohol held in the gas will condense. As the gas cools, it decreases in volume, and the pressure drops. Thus when the flaming alcohol in a backdraft is covered with a pint glass over a saucer, the dense, cold air is replaced with less dense, warm air with a lot of alcohol vapour held in it. As the oxygen flow to the fire is restricted, the remaining oxygen is used up and the fire in the pint glass goes out, removing the heat source. The alcohol-laden warm air now in the glass cools and begins to create a pressure difference. The air outside the pint glass forces its way into the partially evacuated pint glass and is responsible for pushing any liquid at the outside bottom of the pint glass further inside (as the seal of the glass and the saucer is not perfect) as it begins to equalise the pressure difference. Once the majority of the liquid is inside the upside down pint glass, sometimes further air can be seen to bubble up into the glass. At some point an equilibrium will occur, where the pressure difference between inside and outside of the glass is equal to the pressure of the column of liquid held up inside, and this will hold the liquid inside the glass. Sometimes, when a good seal is made, the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the glass exerts a great enough force that when the glass is lifted, the saucer will remain stuck to its underside. When the pint glass is removed, ice is immediately added, thus causing the

condensation Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor ...

of the alcohol vapour, creating a white mist in the glass by a process fairly similar to the formation of

contrails Contrails (; short for "condensation trails") or vapor trails are line-shaped clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust or changes in air pressure, typically at aircraft cruising altitudes several miles above the Earth's surface. Contrails ar ...

. By covering the glass with the hand, this vapour is trapped until it is extracted by the process of

inhalation Inhalation (or Inspiration) happens when air or other gases enter the lungs. Inhalation of air Inhalation of air, as part of the cycle of breathing, is a vital process for all human life. The process is autonomic (though there are exceptions ...

, usually through a straw.

References

External links

Backdraft video from Youtube
{{Cocktails Cocktails with liqueur Flaming drinks Shooters (drinks)