- 250 ml Spanish brandy
- 500 ml Cuban or Catalan dark rum
- 35 g caster sugar
- peel of 1 lemon
- 2 sticks of cinnamon
- 1 litre very strong, hot black coffee
Heat the coffee, spices, peel and sugar in a wide terracotta bowl, if you have one. Warm the booze separately in a saucepan but do not boil. When it is hot, light it and pour the flaming liquid into the bowl. Let it burn for up to 10 minutes while some of the alcohol burns off, but not too long; you don’t want to lose all the alcohol. Kill the flame and ladle out into mugs.
Originating on the Costa Brava, through the rum shipping trade with Cuba, it is what Catalan fishermen drunk in the morning to warm themselves up in the winter. That would do the trick. Traditionally it is made in a wide but flatish terracotta bowl outdoors to prevent any accidental arson. If you have nothing else suitable, use a Dutch oven or a Le Creuset. Just don’t scorch the enamel or mum will be after you.