Directions:

Place a saucer in the center of a table. Place a shot glass in the center of the saucer. Fill the shot glass with sambuca. In a pint glass add 1 - 2 shots of Cointreau. Swirl the glass around to coat the sides. Light the Cointreau and allow to burn so as to warm the sides of the glass. Pour the lit Cointreau into the shot glass , ingniting the Sambuca. Cinnamon (or black pepper, which would change the drink name to a "Pepperdraft") is sprinkled into the flaming alcohol from about 1 foot above the shot glass . The finely powdered spice will ignite in the flame. Important: All the while the pint glass must be kept upside down above the flames to catch the alcohol vapor coming off of the burning liquids. When approximately 3-6 good shakes of cinnamon have been dispensed, the pint glass is lowered over the flaming liquid. Note: the liquid on the outside of the inverted pint glass will still burn and needs to be gently blown out. The upside down pint glass is smaller than the coffee cup saucer, and will thus seal to the saucer extinguishing the flames inside. As the alcohol cools inside the pint glass it will try to suck the alcohol on the outside back into the upside down pint glass. This backdraft effect is the origin of the drink's name. The pint glass is removed and 2-3 ice cubes are placed into it. The opening of the pint glass is immediately sealed with the palm of the bartender's hand. The pint glass is shaken: this has the effect of cooling the alcohol vapors and causing them to condense on the ice cubes, the walls of the glass, and the air inside the glass. Preparation is now complete. The drinker first downs the shot or drinks it through a straw. Then the straw is slipped through the bartender's fingers into the pint glass, whereby the drinker "drinks" the condensed alcohol - actually mainly inhaling the alcohol vapors inside the glass. Finally, the drinker uses the straw to suck up the spirits which have collected in the saucer. The combination of ingested and inhaled alcohol makes this drink extremely potent. The ice cubes (and the layer of condensed alcohol on them) may be eaten if desired.

History:

"Why is it called a backdraft? Once a gas has been warmed up, it tends to expand to fill a volume. It will replace other gases and expand due to its heat content. If this is done in an enclosed sealed space, and then the heat is taken away, as the gases cool, they condense, and decrease in volume, and create a vacuum. Thus when the flaming alcohol in a backdraft is covered with a pint glass over a saucer, the air (a heavier gas) is replaced with warm alcohol vapour (lighter gas)and warm air. As the remaining oxygen is used up, the fire in the pint glass goes out, and the heat source goes away. The alcohol vapor/air mixture now in the glass cools and begins to create a vacuum. This vacuum is responsible for sucking any liquid at the outside bottom of the pint glass further inside (as the seal of the glass and the saucer is not perfect). Once the majority of the liquid is inside the upside down pint glass, sometimes further oxygen can be seen to bubble up into the glass. At some point an equilibrium will occur, where the internal vacuum will hold the liquid inside the glass. This can be great enough at times, that the glass can be lifted, and the saucer will remain stuck to its underside. When the pint glass is removed, ice is immediately added, thus causing the condensation of the alcohol vapor, creating a white mist in the glass. By covering the glass with the hand, this vapor is trapped until it is extracted by the process of inhalation, usually through a straw." - Wikipedia

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