Drink of the Moment: B-52

Here's another shooter for ya'll. The B-52 is a drink that'll go down smooth, taste decent, and leave you feeling warm.

The B-52, like the Martini, has a somewhat murky past. We know it was first made in the 1970s. Some will point to California, others to Canada, and still others to New York... again. The B-52 kind of feels like a Canadian drink to me, and certainly not a New York drink.

The B-52 is a layered drink, and like all layered drinks, it is not "poured" or "mixed", it is "built". To build a B-52, you'll need Grand Marnier, Kahlua, and Irish Cream.

Begin with a shot glass. Pour 1 part Kahlua into it. Then take a spoon, and carefully pour 1 part Irish Cream onto the back of the spoon, so that it gently layers on top of the Kahlua. Next take 1 part Grand Marnier and layer it on top of the Irish Cream. If you've done it correctly, then it should have three pronounced layers. Down the shot, and picture yourself riding the bomb to ground zero.

There's a special variation of the B-52 that a lot of people are interested in making, but very few people I've seen have actually done it correctly. This is the Flaming B-52. The first thing I must stress is that you need to be sure to have a flameproof shot glass. Be certain of it, or this could get messy. The preparation is the same except that you sub in a over proof rum, like Bacardi 151, instead of the Grand Marnier. Fill it to the top, so that you don't expose any more heat than is needed to the glass. Lite the rum, and sip it through a fireproof straw. You can try to down it as a shot, but that needs skill, and if you screw up, you could very easily scorch your esophagus. It's not worth it.

The drink stays in layers because of the differences in the specific gravities of the liquors. If you know the specific gravity of a different liquor, then you can easily create an infinite variety of variations simply by subbing the new ingredient in the right slot. If you pour them out of order though, the layering will be ruined. The taste however, will not.