Combustible Edison 1 ounce Campari 1 ounce fresh lemon juice 2 ounces brandy Shake Campari and lemon juice with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Heat brandy in a chafing dish. When brandy is warmed, ignite and pour in flaming stream into the cocktail glass. If the brandy is chilled and shaken rather than ignited, the drink is simply known as the Edisonian.

Combustible Edison

Before Combustible Edison released its 1994 I, Swinger album, "The Millionaire" decided the band needed a drink all its own. In a style reminiscent of the illustrious bartender Jerry Thomas, who created and showcased the first flaming drink, the Blue Blazer, in the early 19th century, Combustible Edison band members and a few loyal supporters headed to a mixology lab where they spent three exhausting nights in search of the perfect Combustible Edison drink. Having succeeded, the band published the recipe on its album and began a cocktail crusade, bolstered by the group's US and European tour.

The Millionaire says the hardest thing about making this drink is pouring the flaming brandy into a cocktail glass. The pyrotechnics of bartending dictate that one never be intimidated by the flame: anyway, it's the coolest of fires and extinguishes itself moments after hitting the citrus and Campari.

Unless the brandy is thoroughly heated and swiftly poured into a chilled cocktail glass with Campari and lemon juice, it won't put on much of a show. Of course, some days we just don't have the energy to drag out the Bunsen burner for this drink, no matter how much we like the aroma of fervent brandy. Instead, we opt for the band's Edisonian cocktail: the same ingredients minus the heat. We can count on the Campari kick of the Edisonian to revive us for the evening ahead.