Kalashnikov Ahoy!

Last night I was over at Chris’s place for a braai and I came across an interesting shooter that I liked a lot. It’s called a Kalashnikov. Chris made it by adding stroh rum to sugar — not enough to make it runny, but just enough to make a damp mass. He then poured slightly short of a shot of vodka into a shot glass, over which he placed a slice of lemon. The sugar / rum mixture was then spooned onto the lemon and lit. It’s quite a pretty sight watching multiple shot glasses burning, and would have made a great photo if only I’d had my camera! While it’s burning you can see liquid from the lemon / sugar / rum trickling down into the vodka. Once the blue flame has burnt out, you do the obvious: down the vodka shot (now with a slight fruity hint to it) and eat the lemon / caramelised sugar.

It’s quite a treat. I found a recipe for it online at drinksmixer; only their recipe replaces the stroh rum with absinthe, which I imagine dramatically changes the flavour. I’m a fan of absinthe, though, and want to try out that version sometime.