Really "Hot" Manhattan Bar

Just as us "been-there-done-that, seen-it-all-before" New Yorkers were beginning to itch for something new and exciting to marvel at, along comes East Village's fresh-faced cocktail den, Booker & Dax. There, champagne flutes are chilled with a splash liquid nitrogen and cocktails are scorched with a veritable red-hot poker — a whole new brand of fire and ice behind the bar.

For this, the bar, located in the one-time home of Momofuku Milk Bar, has garnered considerable attention and acclaim. The kind of attention, in fact, that seems almost too generously drenched in enthusiasm. But, as PopSci reports, "The show isn't the point at Booker & Dax."

In the case of the red-hot poker, an industrial electric heating rod that reaches up to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit, the tool helps "caramelize the sugars and ignites alcohol vapors" in the drink, significantly affecting the composition of the cocktail.

But let's be honest — aside from the flavor elements it gives to the cocktail, the effect of the red-hot poker is awesome. Check it out for yourself in the video.