Feuerzangenbowle

Feuerzangenbowle, or "Fire Pliers Punch," a hot, German-style mulled red wine beverage consumed around the holidays. This cone of compressed sugar was suspended on a large metal tong (like a giant absinthe spoon) and doused with the rum-fortified punch before being lit on fire. As the sugar melted and dripped down into the wine, the fire slowly extinguished, and so the cone had to be relit several more times before our host blew it out to ladle the hot, sweet, spicy wine into our mugs.