Minutes later, she was being rushed to Mount Sinai Medical Center, landing in intensive care.

Kaufman, 61, of Miami Beach, had ingested a cocktail laced with liquid nitrogen while attending a January fundraising event in Miami Beach.

As soon as Kaufman swallowed the cocktail, the pain was instantaneous. She said she had no idea that the drink was toxic.

“I had a horrible pain,” said Kaufman, who spent five days in the hospital and is still recovering. “I thought I was going to pass out.”

The toxic cocktail burned her insides, creating holes in her esophagus and stomach. As the liquid changed to a gas inside her body, it needed to expand. Doctors quickly rushed the grandmother of four into surgery.

The incident happened in January during the Taste of the Garden event at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden. A bartender from Haven lounge on Lincoln Road served her the cocktail, but did not tell her to wait until the liquid had evaporated, she said.

For added drama, some bartenders chill the cocktail glasses with the liquid nitrogen so that curls of white smoke appear when liquid is added. However, only a little is needed and it should evaporate before it is served. It should never be ingested in its liquid form.

Kaufman, who owns a wholesale jewelry business with her husband, is suing Miami Beach Botanical Garden, Haven Hospitality Concepts…