A flamed orange peel is an orange twist with theatre: the peel is squeezed through the flame of a match so that the oil ignites in a brief orange flash over the drink, and what lands on the surface is caramelised, smoky and sweeter than a plain twist. It is the finish on an Oaxaca Old Fashioned or a Revolver, and the one garnish guests will ask you to do again.

What is a flamed orange peel?

A wide disc or strip of orange zest, held skin-side down between a lit match and the surface of a drink, pinched sharply so that the oil sprays through the flame and ignites. The oil (mostly limonene) is flammable; the flash lasts a fraction of a second and the burnt oil falls onto the drink carrying a toasted, caramel, faintly smoky orange aroma that a cold twist does not have. Pepe Ruiz at Chasen's in Los Angeles is credited with inventing it in 1970 for the Flame of Love Martini he made for Dean Martin; it spread to the Old Fashioned and its relatives in the 1990s cocktail revival. It belongs on dark, spirit-forward drinks with a single big ice cube or served up (Old Fashioneds, Manhattans, Sazeracs, coffee drinks) where the toasted note suits whiskey, mezcal or bourbon and the warm oil sits on a still surface. It is wrong on a fizzy drink, a cream drink or anything delicate.

How to use it

Cut a coin of peel about the size of a half-dollar, with a little pith for stiffness, from a fresh orange. Light a wooden match and let the sulphur burn off for a second (a lighter works but tastes of butane if held too close). Hold the match an inch or two above the drink, hold the peel skin-side towards the flame an inch above the match, and warm the peel for a second. Then pinch the peel sharply: the oil sprays through the flame, flares, and falls on the drink. Rub the peel around the rim and drop it in. Practise over the sink the first time; the flash is bigger than you expect. Keep hair, sleeves and the bottle out of the way, do it over the drink not the bar top, and never over a drink that has already been garnished with something that burns. On a Mezcal Old Fashioned the toasted oil matches the smoke in the spirit, which is why mezcal drinks nearly always get the flame.

Substitutes

A plain expressed orange twist, which gives the oil without the caramel; see orange twist. A dash of orange bitters, for the flavour with no garnish. A strip of orange peel toasted for a few seconds with a kitchen torch, which is the same effect done more slowly. A flamed lemon peel, which is sharper and less sweet.

Cocktails with a flamed orange peel

The Old Fashioneds: the Oaxaca Old Fashioned and the Mezcal Old Fashioned. The coffee one: the Revolver. Every drink that takes a flamed orange peel is listed below, and any Old Fashioned or Manhattan on this site would take one.

Questions

Is it dangerous? The flash is small and brief; the match is the hazard. Do it over the glass, away from bottles, and practise once over the sink.

Does it change the taste? Yes: the oil caramelises and reads as toasted orange, sweeter and smokier than a cold twist.

Match or lighter? A wooden match, with the sulphur burnt off. A lighter works but can taste of gas if held close.

Which drinks? Dark, stirred, spirit-forward ones. Never a fizz or a cream drink.