The Flaming Cocktails Which Will Light Up Your Bonfire Night

Bonfire night is, in contrast to Halloween, a relatively uncelebrated event. November 5th seems to pass by without much notice from the Great British Public who throw themselves into celebrating most other occasions in the country’s social calendar. And this tends to be because bonfire night is celebrated in almost identical ways every single year; without much creative input to set it apart from the year before. And let’s face it, if you’ve seen one firework display then you’ve seen them all.

So this year we’re championing some more creative bonfire night celebrations. Which pretty much means that we’re providing you with a great excuse to have a party – complete with a mobile cocktail bar – so you can thank us for that later. As this year November 5th falls on a weekend, the timing could not be more ideal. So grab a group of your greatest mates, organise a venue (outside definitely counts), hire a bartender, and use the following ideas to throw one hell of a good bonfire night party.

So with that, here is a round-up of the best flaming cocktail ideas and other fiery hacks to really nail the bonfire theme. All of the following drinks contain ingredients that you will find behind our mobile cocktail bars so we are already decked out to provide you with some burning beverages.

The Zombie

The classic of all of the flaming drinks has got to be The Zombie. With the floating passion fruit creating a dramatic and delicious drink, it really is an impressive cocktail to serve to your guests. You will need:

• White Rum
• Dark Rum
• Absinth
• Maraschino
• Pineapple juice
• Orange juice
• Lime

Start with a shaker filled with ice cubes and then add the pineapple juice, fresh lime and orange juice to the shaker, followed by white and dark rum. Add in two bar spoons of maraschino, and then two spoons of absinth. Give it a good shake for about ten seconds before pouring the cocktail into chilled hurricane or tiki glasses. For the garnish, grab a passionfruit, cut it in half and place it on top of the cocktail. Finally, pour some rum in the passionfruit and light it on fire.

If you’re not well versed in the art of cocktail making then it’s a good idea to hire a mixologist so that they can make the zombies and you can drink them!

The Blue Velvet

There’s a big difference between setting the top of a cocktail on fire and actually having the flame mixed in with the cocktail, and this is what The Blue Velvet is all about! Invented by the first flair bartender in the business, the trick is to keep rolling a blue flame – i.e. an extremely hot one – between two different drinks filled with cocktails, without spilling any or setting anything alight. Sound impressive? Well, the recipe is very simple; it’s the trick itself may take a little bit more practice. So maybe just hire a mixologist and leave this one to them! The effect will still be the same, and probably a little bit less of a safety hazard…

You will need:

• Scotch
• Boiling water
• Sugar for sweetening
• Lemon peel for the garnish

Pour the scotch, water and sugar into a heat-resistant mug with a handle. Moscow Mule mugs are perfect for this, and bang on trend to boot! Light the mix on fire in the mug and then, whilst still ablaze, roll the mix into an identical mug and back again 4-5 times in front of your audience.

When ready to serve, pour the mix into a third heat-resistant cup and garnish with the lemon peel. To finish, put one of the mugs over top to extinguish the flames et voila!

Flaming Sambuca Shots

If fiery drinks are your thing but you don’t fancy playing with fire at your own party (pardon the pun) then flaming sambuca shots are what you are looking for. If you do hire a bartender then gather all of your friends at the bar, and ask the barman to pour you and your friends each a shot and set it alight. One by one goes down the line taking the shot, asking the bartender to refill the shot glass as soon as it is back down on the bar. Keep going in a continuous line – reminiscent of a Mexican Wave of sorts – until everyone is finished, or at least the bottle of sambuca is. Points for anyone who downs their shot whilst it’s still alight, but you know; drink responsibly.

We hope you have enjoyed reading our suggestions for an alternative bonfire night celebration. If you think that your party would be made better by some of the above drinks, or just some fancy mixology and flair bartending tricks to fire up your guests, then we can help you out! You can hire any of our mobile cocktail bars which come complete with some great packages to cater for all of your event needs. And for that extra wow factor, choosing to hire a mixologist or to hire a bartender will ensure your event is never forgotten! Get in touch to discuss your party in more details, and remember, remember the 5th November only comes around once a year so make sure you book us early for your bonfire event to avoid disappointment.