Blue Blazer
A Blue Blazer is 60ml of Scotch and 60ml of water just off the boil, set alight and poured in a flaming arc between two metal mugs four or five times, then put out, sweetened with a teaspoon of demerara sugar and finished with lemon peel. Up to 2.4 UK units, served hot. It comes from Jerry Thomas’s How to Mix Drinks of 1862, and Difford’s Guide calls it his signature cocktail. Even then the book told the novice to practise with cold water first and to take care not to scald himself. Read the safety steps before you light anything. Burning whisky gives a flame you can barely see in daylight, a spilt mugful sets fire to whatever it lands on, and metal mugs get hot. Under the show it is a hot whisky toddy, and you can make that without the flame.
Glassware: Irish Coffee Mug
Garnish: Lemon peel twisted over once the flame is out
Ingredients
60ml
Ordinary blended Scotch, 40% ABV, is enough once warmed, because warm whisky gives off vapour that lights. Stronger whisky catches more easily and burns harder, which is a reason for more care rather than a bigger show.
60ml
Just off the boil. Being half the volume, it sets the serving temperature once the flame is out.
1 tsp
A teaspoon, stirred in after the flame is out so none of it scorches. Thomas used a teaspoonful of pulverized white sugar; demerara adds a toffee note that suits the whisky.
Instructions
Rehearse the pour with cold water until it is steady and nothing spills.
Clear the surface, cap the whisky and move the bottle away, and put a metal lid or plate within reach.
Warm two metal mugs with hot water and tip it out.
Pour the Scotch into one mug and stand it in a bowl of hot water for a minute to warm.
Pour the water, just off the boil, into the second mug.
Dim the lights, light the whisky with a long match or lighter, and pour it into the water mug and back four or five times, keeping the arc short.
Cover the mug with the lid to put out the flame.
Stir in the demerara sugar, twist lemon peel over the top and serve once the rim is cool enough to touch.
Source: Jerry Thomas's Bar-Tender's Guide (Adapted from the 1862 Bar-Tender’s Guide: demerara for white sugar, the whisky warmed and lit on its own before it meets the water, measures in ml; method ours). Last checked 9 October 2026.
Expert Tip
Practise with cold water until the pour is steady and nothing spills. Thomas’s 1862 text, in the Internet Archive’s scan, tells the novice to practise for some time with cold water, and the time to find out your arc wobbles is not with the whisky alight. Set up before you light. Bottle capped and moved away, surface cleared, sleeves rolled and hair tied back, and a metal lid or plate that covers the mug within reach. Never pour from the bottle near a flame: fire can run back up the stream. Keep the passes short. A long arc looks good and spills, and burning whisky on a worktop is the usual way this goes wrong. Smother the flame with the lid before anyone drinks, and give the rims a moment to cool.
Behind the Blue Blazer
Flavour Profile
The Origin
Jerry Thomas printed the Blue Blazer in his 1862 bar guide, and Difford’s Guide calls it his signature cocktail. His recipe, in the Internet Archive’s scan, mixes a wine-glass each of Scotch and boiling water in one silver-plated mug, lights it, and pours it between two mugs four or five times until, if well done, it looks like a continued stream of liquid fire.
The same page, in the Internet Archive’s scan, tells the novice to be careful not to scald himself and to practise for some time with cold water. That advice has not dated.
The Fire, Honestly
A Blue Blazer means moving a burning liquid through the air. The risks are burns to the hands, a spill that sets fire to the worktop or your clothes, and a flame you cannot see.
Burning whisky gives a pale blue flame that is close to invisible in daylight, so the drink is made with the lights down. Metal mugs, because glass can crack under the heat. Nothing flammable on the surface. Sleeves rolled, hair tied back, the bottle capped and moved away, and a lid within reach before you light anything.
Make it sober, with no children nearby, in a kitchen rather than a crowded room. If anything goes wrong, cover the mug and stop.
How It Works
Difford’s Guide has you pre-warm the whisky by standing the bottle in hot water. In our experience warmed whisky gives off enough vapour to light easily, while cold whisky may not catch at all. Warm it by standing the mug in hot water, never over a flame.
Once lit, pour from the whisky mug into the water mug and back, four or five times. Each pass mixes the two and keeps the flame going. Then cover the mug, stir in the sugar and twist lemon peel over the top. The fire softens the whisky a little and heats the mugs; the rest is the show.
Ours Against Thomas
The Blue Blazer as Jerry Thomas printed it in 1862 (the Internet Archive’s scan) and as we make it
Whisky
- Thomas, 1862
- A wine-glass of Scotch
- Ours
- 60ml Scotch
Water
- Thomas, 1862
- A wine-glass, boiling
- Ours
- 60ml, just off the boil
Lighting
- Thomas, 1862
- Whisky and water mixed in one mug, then lit
- Ours
- Whisky warmed and lit on its own
Passes
- Thomas, 1862
- Four or five
- Ours
- Four or five, kept short
Sugar
- Thomas, 1862
- A teaspoon of pulverized white sugar
- Ours
- A teaspoon of demerara
Served
- Thomas, 1862
- Small bar tumbler, lemon peel
- Ours
- Warmed metal mug, lemon peel
| Element | Thomas, 1862 | Ours |
|---|---|---|
| Whisky | A wine-glass of Scotch | 60ml Scotch |
| Water | A wine-glass, boiling | 60ml, just off the boil |
| Lighting | Whisky and water mixed in one mug, then lit | Whisky warmed and lit on its own |
| Passes | Four or five | Four or five, kept short |
| Sugar | A teaspoon of pulverized white sugar | A teaspoon of demerara |
| Served | Small bar tumbler, lemon peel | Warmed metal mug, lemon peel |
Lit on its own, warmed whisky catches more readily than Thomas’s mixed mug, and it burns harder too. That is the reason for keeping the passes short.
The Drink Beneath
With the flame out, a Blue Blazer is hot sweetened whisky with lemon oil: malt, toffee from the demerara and citrus on the nose. It is a toddy, and a good one on a cold night.
If you want the drink and not the show, stir the whisky, hot water and sugar together in a warmed mug and leave the matches in the drawer. Little is lost.
How to Serve It
In the warmed metal mug it was mixed in, or poured into a heatproof glass, and a twist of lemon peel. Wait until the rim is cool enough to touch.
Make it at home
The Spirit
Whisky (Scotch)Scotch is whisky distilled and matured in Scotland, kept in oak for three years at the least, and bottled no weaker than 40% ABV. The Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 allow only three ingredients, water, malted barley and whole grains of other cereals, and only water and plain caramel colouring may be added later. Fifteen recipes in our library call for it, from the Penicillin and Hot Toddy to the Rob Roy.
Master the Techniques
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Blue Blazer?
Is it safe to make a Blue Blazer at home?
What was Jerry Thomas’s original recipe?
Why does the Scotch need to be warmed first?
How do I put the flame out?
How strong is a Blue Blazer?
What does a Blue Blazer taste like?
Sources.
Correct as of 19 October 2026.
- Jerry Thomas, 1862 (Internet Archive scan), “How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon-Vivant’s Companion” (primary source: 197. Blue Blazer: two large silver-plated mugs, 1 wine-glass Scotch whiskey, 1 do. boiling water, ignited and poured four or five times from one mug to the other, “a continued stream of liquid fire”; sweeten with one teaspoonful of pulverized white sugar; small bar tumbler with lemon peel; “The novice … should be careful not to scald himself … it will be necessary to practise for some time with cold water”).
- Difford’s Guide, “Blue Blazer” (secondary source: Thomas’s signature cocktail; pre-warm the whisky by standing the bottle in hot water; practise with water first).
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Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 19 October 2026