Cocktail & Other Recipes By Spirit Scotch Cocktails

Set the New Year on Fire

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Liquor.com
Liquor.com

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Updated 12/30/21
Set the New Year on Fire cocktail in a collins glass, garnished with a flaming lime shell

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

If you do one activity on New Year’s Eve, make a good cocktail. If you do two things, safely light something on fire. This aptly named drink from veteran New York and Los Angeles bartender Yael Vengroff lets you do both. Dubbed Set the New Year on Fire, it features single malt scotch, Campari, mint, lime juice and simple syrup. That’s a fine lineup of ingredients, but the real fun starts when you apply the garnish: a flaming lime shell.

Scotch and Campari aren’t commonly paired together, but there is some precedent with the Scotch Negroni and a small handful of other spirit-forward drinks. This cocktail take a different turn, however, merging smoky Islay scotch and Campari with fresh citrus and mint to create a more refreshing experience.

Set the New Year on Fire is easy to make and can be constructed right in the glass. Muddle the mint and lime juice with simple syrup, then add your boozy ingredients and crushed ice. All that’s left is the flaming lime shell. Add a sugar cube into the spent husk of a lime shell, soak it with a dash of 151-proof rum, and you’re just a light away from enjoying its pyrotechnic flair.

Ingredients

  • 6 mint leaves

  • 3/4 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed

  • 1/2 ounce simple syrup

  • 2 ounces Bowmore 12-year-old single malt scotch

  • 1/2 ounce Campari

  • Garnish: flaming lime shell*

Steps

  1. Add the mint leaves, lime juice and simple syrup into a Collins glass and press the leaves gently with a muddler.

  2. Add the scotch and fill the glass with crushed ice.

  3. Float Campari on top and fill with more crushed ice.

  4. Garnish with a flaming lime shell.

*Flaming lime shell: Squeeze the juice from half a lime, reserving the juice for another use. Place the lime shell atop the prepared cocktail and place 1 sugar cube inside. Douse the sugar cube with 151-proof rum and carefully light on fire. Extinguish before drinking.