Cafe Brulot: The Flaming Coffee of New Orleans
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The lights dim a little. A waiter rolls a small cart to your table, sets a silver bowl over a flame and lights the brandy inside. Blue fire climbs a spiral of orange peel studded with cloves, then hot, dark coffee pours in and the flames die into a cloud of citrus and spice. This is cafe brulot, or cafe brulot diabolique, the flaming coffee of New Orleans.
It is part dessert, part performance, and very much a holiday tradition in the city’s old-line Creole restaurants. Here is what we know about where it comes from, which stories are only legends, and how to make a careful, adults-only version at home, plus an alcohol-free one.
What is cafe brulot?
Brulot comes from the French brûler, to burn. The drink combines brandy, an orange liqueur, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and citrus peel, which are warmed and flamed, then mixed with strong hot coffee, often dark-roasted New Orleans coffee with chicory. It is served in small demitasse cups at the end of a meal.
Antoine’s and the Alciatore family
The drink is most closely tied to Antoine’s, in the French Quarter. The restaurant was founded in 1840 by Antoine Alciatore, a young immigrant cook, and has been in the same family ever since, which makes it one of the oldest family-run restaurants in the United States. It moved to its current home at 713 St. Louis Street in 1868.
Antoine’s son Jules Alciatore trained as a chef in France and became sole proprietor in the 1890s. His era was remarkably inventive: Oysters Rockefeller, created at Antoine’s in 1899, is the most famous dish credited to him. Cafe brulot diabolique is also generally credited to Jules, or at least to his popularizing it. Sources differ on whether he invented it or perfected an existing flaming-brandy custom, and no firm invention date is documented, so treat the attribution as tradition rather than proven fact.
The legends
The Prohibition disguise
A popular story says cafe brulot was a clever way to serve alcohol during Prohibition (1920–1933), with the coffee and spice hiding the brandy. It is a fun tale, but New Orleans writer Sue Strachan, author of a book on the drink, has said she finds it unconvincing, and the theatrical fire hardly makes a drink inconspicuous.
The pirate connection
Another tale links the flaming showmanship to the pirate Jean Lafitte, suggesting that drink theatrics distracted crowds while his crew picked pockets. There is no evidence for it. Enjoy it as folklore.
The tableside ritual
At Antoine’s, the brulot is prepared at the table with real ceremony:
- Brandy, orange liqueur, sugar and spices are warmed in a silver bowl.
- The server lights the mixture and ladles the flames over an orange peeled in a long spiral and studded with cloves.
- Hot chicory coffee is poured in, putting out the fire and releasing a rush of aroma.
- The drink is ladled into demitasse cups.
Several other classic New Orleans restaurants serve their own versions, especially in the holiday season.
Why New Orleans coffee has chicory
Many New Orleans brulots use coffee blended with roasted chicory root. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the coffee-chicory mix probably started in Holland and spread to France in the early 1800s, and the French heritage of New Orleans brought it to Louisiana. During the Civil War, Union blockades cut off the port, and residents stretched scarce coffee with chicory. The taste stuck. Chicory adds a woody, slightly bitter depth that works well with the spices in a brulot.
Cafe brulot at home (serves 4, adults only)
This version is for adults of legal drinking age. Please drink responsibly, and read the safety notes before you strike a match.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Brandy or cognac | 1/2 cup | 120 ml |
| Orange liqueur (such as triple sec) | 2 tbsp | 30 ml |
| Sugar | 2 tbsp | 25 g |
| Cinnamon stick | 1 | 1 |
| Whole cloves | 6–8 | 6–8 |
| Orange peel, long strips | From 1 orange | From 1 orange |
| Lemon peel strips | From 1/2 lemon | From 1/2 lemon |
| Strong hot coffee (dark roast, chicory optional) | 2 cups | 480 ml |
Steps
- Brew the coffee strong: about 1 g coffee per 14 g water (roughly 34 g coffee for 480 ml). Keep it hot.
- Warm the spirits gently. In a heatproof, wide metal bowl or a small saucepan, combine brandy, orange liqueur, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and peels. Warm over low heat until just steaming. Do not boil.
- Turn off the heat and flame. Move the pan off the burner. Using a long lighter, ignite the vapors at the edge. Ladle the flaming liquid over itself for 20–30 seconds so the sugar caramelizes slightly.
- Extinguish with coffee. Slowly pour in the hot coffee. The flames should go out; if not, cover with a lid.
- Serve in demitasse or small heatproof cups, leaving the spices and peels behind.
Safety notes
- Never pour alcohol from the bottle into or near a flame.
- Flame away from curtains, cabinets, hair and loose sleeves, and keep children and pets well back.
- Have a lid or baking sheet ready to smother flames.
- Do not carry a burning bowl. Flame where you will serve.
- Flaming does not remove all the alcohol, so treat it as an alcoholic drink.
Alcohol-free cafe brulot
Simmer the coffee for 5 minutes with the cinnamon, cloves, citrus peels and 1–2 tbsp brown sugar, add 1/4 tsp orange extract, and strain. You keep the warm spice and citrus without the fire or the alcohol.
Choosing the coffee
The coffee should be dark and bold enough to stand up to brandy, sugar and spice. Our French Roast is a dark roast of specialty grade Central American coffee with bold, smoky-sweet notes and low acidity, close to the dark New Orleans style. For a festive table, Holiday Blend brings together coffees from Brazil, Peru and India with warm spice and cocoa notes and a sweet finish. Both are roasted 1–5 days before delivery.
Cafe brulot FAQ
Who invented cafe brulot?
It is generally credited to Jules Alciatore of Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans, who ran the restaurant from the 1890s. There is no firm documented invention date.
What does brulot mean?
It comes from the French brûler, to burn, referring to the flamed brandy.
Was cafe brulot invented during Prohibition?
That is a popular legend, not an established fact. Antoine’s association with the drink is usually traced to Jules Alciatore’s era, which began well before Prohibition.
Where can I drink cafe brulot in New Orleans?
Antoine’s is the classic address, and several other old-line New Orleans restaurants offer it, especially around the holidays.
Sources
- Antoine’s Restaurant, 64 Parishes, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.
- A Fiery Finale: Cafe Brulot in New Orleans’ old-line restaurants, Kim Ranjbar, Where Y’at Magazine, 2023 (via Antoine’s).
- Sue Strachan, The Café Brûlot, LSU Press, 2021.
- The History of the Chicory Coffee Mix That New Orleans Made Its Own, Smithsonian Magazine, 2014.
- Antoine’s, Wikipedia, accessed 2026.
Facts checked in October 2026.
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