Even if legendary 19th-century bartender Jerry Thomas wasn’t the actual creator of the Blue Blazer cocktail—essentially a scotch hot toddy set aflame—at this point, the origin is irrelevant. Thomas will forever be associated with the drink thanks to the famous illustration depicting him, stern and mustachioed, pouring a waterfall of flames between two mugs. “He was known for these pyrotechnical theatrics,” says Amanda Schuster, drinks writer and author of the new book Signature Cocktails. “That’s kind of his signature—I mean, if you had a Jerry Thomas T-shirt, it would be that image.”
The Blue Blazer dates to the 1850s and later appeared in Thomas’ 1862 book How To Mix Drinks. But the cocktail’s initial popularity may have been short lived. Citing drinks historian David Wondrich, Schuster notes that flair bartending was already becoming passé by the 1880s, as were the inherently flammable high-proof whiskies. But with the cocktail renaissance of the 21st century and it’s adoration for the antiquated (and the prevalence of barrel-strength spirits), flaming drinks are being reignited behind bars everywhere.
With a simple but showstopping build, the Blue Blazer is tailor-made for the holidays and companionable sipping on a cold winter night because, as Schuster notes, “When you make one, you have to make two.”