Post #103558 by Doctor Z on Fri, Jul 23, 2004 12:42 AM

As far as the dry ice goes, keep in mind that if you simply put dry ice into cool or even tap temperature water, all it will do is bubble - you won't get the dramatic "smoky/steamy" effect at all, just bubbling water. To get the effect you see in pictures and movies, the water needs to be as warm or hot as possible, and even then the effect doesn't last long: once the super-cold dry ice cools the water down sufficiently, you'll be left with just bubbling water again. I've always wondered about the drink mugs with the little side pockets for water & dry ice, 'cause even if you used boiling water, that small of an amount of water would cool down awfully fast, and make a very short lived effect. However, being "right next to" the drink itself, the dry ice/ice water would contunue to cool the drink at least. Get some dry ice and try it out for yourself to get the temperature and timing right, so you will be sure to impress your guests with more than just bubbling water!

Oh, and for flaming drinks, I use a spent lime shell speared with a skewer (to help keep it from sinking). Drop a sugar cube in it, douse it with 151 and ignite. Unless the person sloshes their drink and puts it out, it'll burn until the "fuel" is gone, usually about 5 - 7 minutes. Volcano bowls - sugar cube and 151 as well. It makes a nice sized blue & orange flame, and if it gets in your drink - no worries! And once the fire does go out, you're not left with a charred crouton, just a wet sugar cube!