Blue flames dance over a clay pot while the sugar caramelizes and the room fills with the smell of coffee, citrus and cinnamon. What ends up in the small cups is warm, sweet and much softer than the rum you started with.
33¾ oz
dark rume.g. Gosling's · Myers's · Captain Morgan · Bacardi · Kraken
150 g
sugar
15
whole coffee beans
1
lemon peel in wide strips, without pith
1
cinnamon stick
Garnish: Coffee beans, cinnamon and lemon peel in the pot · Ice: Served up, no ice
Cremat
Warm, sweet and caramelized with coffee, lemon zest and cinnamon. Softer than neat rum; strength depends on how long it burns.
Cremat, Catalan for burnt, is a traditional drink from the Costa Brava in Catalonia, Spain. It is closely tied to the fishing villages of the coast and to the singing of havaneres, sea songs influenced by the Cuban habanera, which were brought back by sailors who worked the routes between Catalonia and the Caribbean. Gatherings where havaneres are sung are traditionally accompanied by a pot of cremat.
The method is always the same: rum, sugar, coffee beans, lemon peel and cinnamon are set alight in a wide clay pot (cassola) and stirred while they burn. Part of the alcohol burns off, and the sugar caramelizes. The flame is put out with a lid, and the warm drink is ladled into small clay cups.
From the Costa Brava in Catalonia, Spain, where it is traditionally served at havaneres singing events.
No. Flaming reduces the alcohol, but the drink still contains a considerable amount.
A wide, shallow clay pot is traditional and holds the heat well. A heavy, wide metal pan works too.
The perfect sound
A flickering rum flame in a harbour tavern on the Costa Brava.
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