Flaming Absinthe Cocktail Lights Man's Face On Fire

Today in "cover your eyes" news, a cocktail stunt at a bar in Russia went horribly, horribly wrong when a flaming absinthe cocktail lit a patron's face on fire. The man, after suffering first and second degree burns, now plans on suing the bar for $15,000. 

The New York Daily News reports that the bartender attempted to pour the drink into the patron's mouth when his face caught on fire; Alexey Ponamarev, 28, was immediately rushed to the hospital. The worst part? Ponamarev's girlfriend caught the whole stunt on video on her cellphone (which you can watch on the New York Daily News' site). Now, the couple plans on suing the unnamed bar. 

However, the New York Daily News quotes Russian media outlet Life News and the bartender who performed the trick, Albert Bykov, as saying that he regularly performs the stunt with a different drink. Said Bykov to the Life News, "The customer asked me to pour burning absinthe. Usually we do it with sambuca, but the guest is always right so, warning him of the danger, I tried to do it." So despite the fact that some crazy cocktails, like those liquid nitrogen cocktails, can be safe — more often than not, we'll pass on the flaming and smoking drinks.