Akademik

(nik.oh.TEE.nee)

n.

A nicotine-laced martini.

Forget the cosmopolitan. Set aside the mojito. A new drink has emerged on trendy Las Olas Boulevard since restaurants were forced to ban smoking — the nicotini.

Call it a liquid cigarette because this drink comes complete with the nicotine rush and tobacco aftertaste. These tobacco-spiked martinis are being served up for die-hard smokers who don't want to leave their bar stools and go outside to light up.

Larry Wald, the owner of the Cathode Ray Club, came up with the homemade brew as he searched for ways to help smokers cope with the new smoke-free atmosphere Florida voters ordered last fall. Soak tobacco leaves in vodka overnight, deaden the juice's harshness by adding a couple other liquors and voila: the nicotini of Las Olas.

— Scott Wyman, "As smoke clears, club mixes tobacco, vodka," Orlando Sentinel, August 31, 2003

The creator of "nicotinis" claims the cocktails are akin to the nicotine patch and gum used to quit smoking, but some critics say those products contain a set amount of nicotine as opposed to drinks with an unregulated amount. Calgary respirologist Ian Mitchell suggests established options are safer bets than bellying up to the bar.

"People who are highly addicted can use the patch or gum," said Mitchell.

"Nicotine is a powerful and addictive substance, if (the drinks) work, and that's the big question, I don't think nicotine can be dispensed freely. Nicotine has many side-effects, it could be fatal and has to be used carefully."

The nicotini was spawned at restaurants in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after a smoking ban went into effect July 1.

— "Liquid cigarettes light up critics," Winnipeg Sun, August 5, 2003

As I write this, I am guzzling something called a Nicotini, which, as the name suggests, is a cocktail with a smoker's cough — an ethereal blend of vanilla-flavored vodka, the coffee liqueur Kahlua and a splash of tobacco juice.

And later, when I looked back on my increasingly seismic handwriting, it appeared I enjoyed it. According to my notes, the Nicotini had a pleasing taste, which I described as either like a Maryland crabcake or a vanilla cupcake that had been sitting near an ashtray for an hour or so.

— Gersh Kuntzman, "Tobacco in Your Tiramisu?," Newsweek, May 19, 2003