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The woman who answered the phone at Talbert’s Ice in Bethesda, Maryland, had clear instructions when I explained that I needed dry ice to make Halloween punch.

“Don’t,” she said.

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“Don’t worry,” I reassured her. “I know what I’m doing.” (I’ve heard that “Hey, watch this!” is the top phrase to precede actions that win someone a Darwin Award. “I know what I’m doing” might be a contender for second place.)

Her young male colleague was equally firm when I got there with my cooler. “I’m putting it in drinks,” I explained.

“No you are not,” he said.

I tried to calm him, but his eyes kept rolling skeptically, like a panicked horse in front of a fence it doesn’t want to jump.

Why? I’ve seen plenty of bartenders make use of dry ice: carbon dioxide in its solid, extremely cold form. Dry ice changes directly from solid to gas, and when put in drinks, it creates a bubbling effect and a thick fog. I’ve seen it in bowls of punch, sending out mysterious tendrils of mist. I’ve seen it individual drinks, including Jo-Jo Valenzuela’s Rizal, a bubbling concoction of gin, lime and “guavamansi” (guava and kalamansi lime) soda that won Washington’s annual rickey competition this summer.