"We do this in Russia"

About 2-3 years ago some friends went to Backbar in Union Sq. The following day I asked them how it was. One of them described this insane cocktail. Whiskey, whipped egg whites, Amaretto, orange bitters, and then the really dramatic part; the bar tender took a stick of cinnamon, and light it on fire. He let it burn for a bit, and then blew it out. Next, he held an upside-down pint glass over the cinnamon stick, and captured the rising smoke inside it. He then used this pint glass, as shaker with the rest of the drink’s ingredients, to infuse the smoked cinnamon flavor into the drink. Sounds pretty good. Apparently he had won some national(??) Amaretto-sponsored contest a few weeks beforehand with this drink.

A few days later I am at work. I am harassing the Russian co-worker about not being a “real” bartender, and I tell him about the drink mentioned above. When I am done with this story, he responds, “This is nothing. We do this in Russia with Parliament cigarette, styrofoam cup, and vodka.”