Lou & Mickey's Scorpion's Sting

Tiki-cocktail culture might be making a comeback, but at Lou & Mickey’s, it never went away. Take yourself downtown, where bartender Brian Gaudet is ready to take the sting out of your day by putting it in your drink. But, be warned: Lou & Mickey’s Scorpion for two is more than one man — or one woman — can bear.

“We have to serve it with two people,” he tells me. “It comes with two straws. I could probably make a half of one of these drinks for someone, but, by law, we can’t serve it to only one person.”

Served in a 32-ounce tiki-style volcano bowl, the drink has about 8 ounces of alcohol in it. But Gaudet says the real fireworks happen when he serves the thing with an extra shot of rum on the island in the center of the bowl.

“We put a little shot of Bacardi 151 in the center and light it on fire,” he says. “It comes out as a big bowl of sweetness with a flaming shot in the middle.... We serve probably a couple every night.”

With some of the heaviest firepower among tiki cocktails, the Scorpion, Gaudet says, has only one rival — the Mai Tai.

“For lack of a better comparison, it tastes a bit like a Mai Tai because it has that orange-juice-and-pineapple taste, so, really, you can’t tell how strong it is,” he says. “It’s sweet — but not to the point of too sweet — and it goes down smooth and easy, and it’s going to have a little bit of a kick after a short delay.”

Kitchen Proof: Aye-yup.

Lou & Mickey's Scorpion Sting

Fill a 32-oz. tiki-style volcano bowl (Gaudet says you can also use a mega-mug) with crushed ice and pour:

• 6 oz. Bacardi rum
• 1 oz. brandy
• 1½ oz. Orgeat syrup
• 2 oz. pineapple juice
• 2 oz. sweet-and-sour
• 6 oz. orange juice

Float a dash of Crème de Noyaux on the surface, serve with a flaming ¼ oz. of Bacardi 151 in a shot glass and two straws.