Flaming Doctor Pepper

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Flaming Doctor Pepper
Type:	Mixed drink May be served flaming
Primary alcohol by volume:	Beer High-proof alcohol Amaretto
Served:	"Straight up"; without ice
Standard drinkware:	A pub glass and a shot glass.
Commonly used ingredients:	1 pint (~13 parts) beer 3 parts Amaretto 1 part high proof liquor
Preparation:	Layer the two spirits in the shot glass, with the high proof liquor on top. Light the shot and allow to burn, then extinguish by dropping it into the beer glass. Drink immediately.

The Flaming Doctor Pepper is a flaming cocktail said to taste like the soft drink Dr Pepper, although it does not contain any soda. It is usually made by filling a shot glass 3/4 full with Amaretto, and 1/4 high proof liquor (such as Everclear or Bacardi 151) to make it flammable. (The two liquors are not mixed; rather, the high-proof alcohol is layered on top to burn more easily.) The shot is then set on fire and dropped into a glass half-filled with beer. The flaming shot is extinguished by the beer, which foams up and is then quickly consumed. A common variation is to use Amaretto and Kahlua.

History

Origins

As with many modern cocktails, the origins of this drink are disputed.

• The earliest claim to originating this drink is the Ptarmigan Club in College Station, Texas in the 1960s^{[citation needed]}.
• The Gold Mine Saloon in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana features the Flaming Dr. Pepper as its signature drink.^[1] According to local legend, it was created quite accidentally in the mid-1980s^[1], probably by saloon-owner and poet^[2], Dave Brinks.

Names

Since "Dr Pepper" (without a period) is a trademark of soft drink company Dr Pepper Snapple Group inc. (formerly Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages), this cocktail has been marketed under several variations to avoid trademark infringement issues. Flaming Dr. Pepper (with a period) and Flaming Dr. Peppar (a misspelling of "Pepper") appear most commonly in Internet search results.

In some places this cocktail is referred to as a "shot" (e.g. a Flaming Dr. Pepper Shot). It would be more accurate to describe the drink as a beer cocktail similar to a depth charge, since the primary alcohol is beer into which the shot glass is dropped. The unique flavor and effect of the drink is created by the separate flavors blending together.

References in popular culture

Author Tucker Max, an Internet personality known for his alcohol-fueled adventures, mentions the drink in his story "The Austin Road Trip" in the book I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. After seeing a round of Flaming Dr Peppers prepared in a bar and drinking one, Max remarked "I'll be damned if it didn't taste exactly like Dr Pepper...It was the coolest thing involving alcohol I had ever seen." ^[3]

Max also makes reference to the drink's purported strength: "People, heed my warning: That stuff is Special Olympics in a pint glass. You think they are harmless and not very strong, and the next thing you know it is an hour later and you are in the bathroom of the bar with your pants off, surrounded by five girls, giving your boxers to a bachelorette party because one of the girls is cute and told you that you had a nice butt. Be forewarned." Max also mentions later in his story that the drink has been banned in Austin, Texas.

The "Flaming Homer" was created accidentally in an episode of the Simpsons and stolen by bartender Moe, who renames it "The Flaming Moe".

More recently, the drink is featured in the 2007 film Hot Rod.

Potential dangers

The American Journal of Emergency Medicine reported a case in 1997 where a 14-year-old boy from Danville, Virginia inadvertently spilled the contents of the shot glass on his face while transferring it to the glass of beer, resulting in "multiple separate sites of superficial partial-thickness burns" about his face and neck. ^[4]

Variations

Dr Pepper shandy

Another Dr Pepper-flavored beer cocktail is the Dr. Pepper shandy. It is made using a Collins glass and filling it half with lager and half with Dr Pepper or cola. Then a shot glass containing Amaretto is dropped into the glass, mixing the contents through a depth-charge effect.

See also

• List of flaming beverages

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Gold Mine Saloon in New Orleans, LA". AOL City Guide. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
2. ^ "Dave Brinks - Judge, The InterBoard Poetry Competition". About.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
3. ^ Max, Tucker I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (2006)
4. ^ Gear AJL, Nguyen WD, Himell HN, and Edlich RF: "Flaming Dr Pepper" — Another cause of recreational burn injury. American Journal of Emergency Medicine, January 1997; Volume 15:108-111.