Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of Fire

Admittedly, most flaming drinks you can order in a bar today were concocted in the first place for no other purpose than the pleasure of the eye.

I am an uncomplicated man and my tastes usually go to the simple things. Contrarily to a rumor peddled by a recent visitor from Toronto, I, for one, certainly don’t think myself a revolutionary, but I do consider whiskey-drinking serious business. I will, however, willingly concede that people who do take their whiskey seriously, have been known, when circumstances warrant it, to take up arms in the defense of the cause, as demonstrated in the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, I am not sure whether this qualifies them as revolutionaries or not.

In any case, the bartender here always keep a bottle of Rye Whiskey for me, which is one of the many reasons I keep dropping by The Wulfshead---Rye Whiskey can be a bit hard to come by these days.

Like most Whiskey drinkers, I enjoy the straight stuff---especially the good stuff. But I will also on occasion allow the bartender to play with matches and fix me his Tom the Toe (also known in some parts as The 1794). The bartender claims that he has met Tom the Toe in person, do you know that? The drink is essentially a combination of Rye Whiskey, Campari and sweet vermouth, with an orange peel garnish. Think of it as a Manhattan with an Italian Twist, if you will. I do not know what the exact proportions are. I have been leaving the details to the discretion of the bartender and I have had no reason to complain. It is always a captivating experience to observe him take the orange peel and warm its outside skin gently with a match.


He lowers the flame directly above the drink and squeezes the peel with its outside skin pointing downward. The essence then hits the flame and sparks up.