Wire on Fire

The first time I heard the name “Wires on Fire”, I thought: “That sounds like a drink.” You know, I could see someone – Lauren Bacall, Dean Martin, Elton John – sidling up to the bar and going: “A Wire on Fire. And don’t be stingy with the whiskey, baby.” It took some time before that thought turned into action (it usually does when I’m involved), but then late one night it was finally born.

You’ll need:

an orange

lots of ice

a glass

jameson

cointreau

red bull

matches

And you make it like this:

1. Cut the side off the orange and carve out the pulp using a sharp knife. Keep scraping until it’s all gone and you have yourself a little bowl of orange peel measuring about 1 – 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Dry it using some tissue, your shirt or whatever else you have available. This is important. The orange peel bowl must be completely dry (I first wrote orange pee bowl, but I edited that. I don’t care what your pee bowl is like. I prefer not to think about your pee bowl. Wtf IS a pee bowl, anyway?).

2. Fill the glass with ice – all the way up.

3. Slosh generous amounts of Jameson over the ice.

4. Fill up with Red Bull.

5. Put orange peel on top of the ice and fill it with Cointreau.

6. Set the Cointreau on fire.

7. Watch the flame until it goes out or you get bored.

8. Tip the remaining Cointreau into the glass.

9. Drink.

Of course, you don’t have to set it on fire, but if you don’t it’s obviously just a Wire and not a Wire on Fire. Duh.