Fire at the Firehouse

I found this glass at a thrift store.  There were quite a few glasses that day that were firehouse/firefighter themed but this one really drew me in.  It’s a glass commemorating a fire at the Lower Southampton PA Firehouse in 1974 with a lovely little window to see a drawing of the firefighters fighting the blaze on the inside.  It seemed like such an odd thing to put onto glassware.  I suppose it could have been a fundraiser after the fire, but still a bit odd.  I’d like to think someone thought the idea of a firehouse catching fire was so silly and ironic they needed a keepsake.  A way to remember that tragic joke forever.  I also loved the fact that there was a very prominent typo right up front which you’d think someone should have caught before they were sent to the production line.  So this strange glass came home with me to find its perfect cocktail.  I wanted to make a drink that had some heat and some smoke.  But I also wanted to still be able to see the picture through the little window, so I needed to go with some clear spirits and ingredients.  My first step was mezcal, tequila’s smokey cousin. A perfect way to capture the billows of smoke in the picture on the palette.  Next, I made some hot pepper simple syrup to give it some heat and experimented with dry vermouth to smooth the edges.  I then figure with all this fire why not add some aloe vera liquor, you know, to treat some of those burns.  The result is a warm, smokey but still refreshing cocktail with bold flavors that melt together nicely.  You know what they say about a good drink, where there’s smoke…