A season at the testing field
Why we fire a sample of every batch before it goes on sale.
How to read a sky-shot label
Shot count, duration, effect names and what the numbers mean in the sky.
Sky-shot cakes look alike in the shop, so the label does most of the work. Here is what to look for.
The shot count is the number of tubes in the cake, and each fires once. A 12-shot is small and quick; a 120-shot is a show on its own. The duration tells you how long the whole cake runs. Two cakes with the same shot count can differ: one fires fast, another holds longer gaps.
The effect names describe what you will see. Peony is a round ball of colour. Willow and gold rain hang and fall slowly. Peacock fans out in green and gold tails. Crackling means a popping, glittering finish. Multicolour mixes several of these.
Finally, read the safe distance and the instructions on the side. They tell you how much open space to leave, and that the cake must sit on firm, level ground. If the label says green formulation, it is a reduced-emission one. Our product cards add one more line: the time we measured when we test-fired that batch.
