How many shots can you name? Probably a handful yet there are more than even I can list and more are added everyday. Finding the right one for your next event is easy when you review the list I’ve assembled to help you. Check out the pictures of the individual shots to get a better idea of what you might want to try. Remember to have all the ingredients and maybe a few additional flavors on hand to try a different variations. Have fun and get creative.
Top 15+ Best Shots & Shooter Recipes by Tom Blake at Crafty Bartending
Regardless of who you are and what you do, knowing some of the best shots recipes is always useful. And I mean going beyond the standard tequila, sambuca and Jager shots (even though these are all great!).
People love shots for a variety of reasons,
- They’re a quick route to inebriation,
- They’re fun to have with friends, and
- When made well, they actually taste pretty good.
If you’re a bartender, knowing the best shots & shooters is even more important because it will help make your bar that much more entertaining. Below, you’ll find some of the most popular shot recipes served around the world. Some taste great, some are just for fun, some will get you hammered really fast, and others are perfect for those who have already passed the point of inebriation!
If your guest asks for a recommendation (let’s face it, they mostly do when they want to order an interesting shot), weigh up what you think they’re looking for and choose the appropriate one.
Bottoms up!
Note: Some of these recipes are made to serve more than 1 shooter. You may notice that these recipes use less liquid than the amount they’re meant to pour, i.e. the ingredients total 3 shots instead of 4. The reason being, these recipes are shaken over ice so the mix dilutes and stretches them into 4. If you need to make more or less, adjust the recipes as required whilst keeping the proportions the same. Alternatively, save some for yourself ;-).
These are the shooters we’ll be looking at (in alphabetical order):
- ABC
- Alabama Slammer
- B-52
- Blowjob
- Boilermaker
- Cement Mixer
- Flatliner
- Hand Grenade
- Irish Car Bomb
- Kamikaze
- Lemon Drop
- Jager Bomb
- Jam Donut
- Red Headed Slut
- Skittle Bomb
- Slippery Nipple
- Tom the Bomb
- Vegas Bomb
- Wet Pussy
ABC
The ABC shot is an acronym that stands for the ingredients used – Absinthe, Bacardi 151, and Chartreuse. According to the Urban Dictionary, “it’s a deadly combination causing intoxication and loss of willpower very quickly.”
Considering the strength of its ingredients, it’s a very appropriate definition.
Serve in a Shot glass
- 1/3 shot absinthe
- 1/3 shot Bacardi 151 Overproof Rum
- 1/3 shot Chartreuse
Build in any order in a shot glass.
Alabama Slammer (Serves 4)
No-one really knows where this drink came from, but it’s still one of the best shots in the world. One story goes that it was created at the University of Alabama in 1975 as the South’s answer to the popular frat cocktail, the Long Island Iced Tea. Similarly to the Long Island Iced Tea, it’s surprisingly tasty and it has a cult-like following. It’s essential to know if you’re bartending in the States.
Serve in a Shot glass
- 1/2 shot amaretto
- 1/2 shot sloe gin
- 1/2 shot Southern Comfort
- 1 1/2 shots orange juice
Shake & strain into 4 shot glasses. Bottoms up!
Note: It’s also possible to make this as a highball cocktail by adding 1/2 a shot extra of all the ingredients and shaking & straining it into an ice-filled highball glass instead.
B-52
A very popular shot in France, the B-52 shot is a pousse-café shot recipe that can be lit on fire. However, it can only be lit on fire when a triple sec that’s high in alcohol content is used – like Cointreau. The triple sec must also be poured at room temperature. But even then, it’s difficult to achieve so don’t brag you can light it on fire until you’ve practiced first!
Despite this being a showy shot, it actually tastes great. Also feel free to experiment with the triple sec used. Grand Marnier is another popular choice.
Serve in a Shot glass
- 1/3 shot Kahlua coffee liqueur
- 1/3 shot Bailey’s Irish Cream
- 1/3 shot triple sec
Layer in the order given above in a shot glass. Light on fire (optional).
Blowjob
You probably won’t be making these in more sophisticated cocktail bars, but the blowjob shooter is one of the best shots to make in rowdy pubs & bars, especially those that attract Hen Parties.
It’s meant to be drunk with your hands behind your back so that you only touch the glass with your mouth. I wonder why…
Serve in a Shot glass
- 1/2 shot Kahlua
- 1/2 shot Bailey’s Irish Cream
- Top with whipped cream
Layer in the order given above in a shot glass. Instruct the drinker to keep their hands behind their back when they ‘shoot’ it.
Boilermaker
Also known as ‘a shot and a beer,’ the Boilermaker isn’t your average shooter because you’re actually sinking a pint of beer with it! But it’s extremely popular and one of the first bomb recipes to bee created.
Serve in a 1 Shot glass & 1 Pint glass
- 1 shot whisk(e)y
- 1 pint of lager
Serve in separate glasses. Instruct the drinker to drop (bomb) the whiskey into the pint of beer and chug.
Cement Mixer
It’s worth emphasising straight away that you don’t order a cement mixer shot for its taste… It’s a nasty combination of Irish cream and lime juice that’s designed to make the drinker suffer.
You’re meant to mix this drink in your mouth before swallowing so that the lime cordial & Irish cream combine and react to make the cream curdle. Very quickly, it starts to feel like you’ve got cement in your mouth – not the greatest experience in the world but hilarious to watch!
Serve in a Shot glass
- 1/2 shot Irish cream
- 1/2 shot lime cordial
Carefully layer in the order given above in a shot glass. Instruct the drinker to mix the drink in their mouth for 10 seconds before swallowing. Enjoy watching!
Flatliner
This is a fantastic shot that you can have a lot of fun with. The Tabasco sauce makes it interesting by adding heat to the mix and when made properly, it looks really cool look. Keep in mind that the more hot sauce you add, the worse it will be.
Hint: When you’re breaking in a new bartender, this shot does wonders.
Serve in a Shot glass
- 1/2 shot sambuca
- 1/2 shot tequila
- 4-7 drops Tabasco sauce
Add the sambuca to the shot glass. Layer the tequila on top. Drop the Tabasco sauce around in a circle – the Tabasco sauce should fall through the tequila and create an even layer on top of the Sambucca giving the appearance that the Tabasco sauce is suspended half-way through the glass.
Hand Grenade
Be careful when you’re serving the Hand Grenade. The combination of 2 shots of alcohol & half a can of Red Bull make it the most deadly recipe (along with ‘Tom the Bomb’) on this list. It’s a fun drink to introduce to rowdy groups of guys.
Serve in 2 Shot glasses & 1 Pint glass
- 1 shot white rum
- 1 shot Jaegermeister
- 1/2 can Red Bull
Pour the white rum & Jaeger into separate shot glasses. Pour the red bull into a pint glass. Balance the shot glasses against the edges of the rim of the pint glass with the white rum balancing on top. Instruct the drinker to shoot the white rum. The Jaeger shot will drop into the red bull and then instruct the drinker to scull this ‘bomb’ in quick succession.
Irish Car Bomb
It’s no secret that the Irish know how to drink so it might come as no surprise that such a deadly concoction should be named after them. Strangely enough, it was created in the US. Its name stems from the fact that it uses all Irish ingredients – Irish whiskey, Bailey’s and Guinness.
The Irish Car Bomb needs to be skulled fast. The longer it sits there after it’s been ‘bombed,’ the worse it gets because the Bailey’s starts to curdle as soon as it hits the Guinness. So whenever you serve, remember to instruct the drinker to skull it fast.
Serve in 1 Shot glass & 1 Pint glass
- 1/2 shot Baileys Irish Cream
- 1/2 shot Irish whiskey
- Half a pint of Guinness
Pour the Baileys into a shot glass. Layer the Irish whiskey on top. Instruct the drinker to drop (i.e. bomb) the shot glass into the half pint of Guinness and Skull.
Jager Bomb
Many of us have forgotten a night of shenanigans thanks to the jager bomb. The mix of energy drink and alcohol may not be the healthiest combination, but that doesn’t stop people from loving it. It’s arguably the most popular bomb/shot recipe all over the world.
Interestingly, it’s called different things in different languages. One of my favorites comes from Finland, where they appropriately call it ‘Battery Acid,’ I’m assuming because of how they make you feel the next day.
Serve in 1 Shot glass & 1 Rocks glass
- 1 shot Jaegermeister
- 1/3 can Red Bull
Pour the Jaeger into a shot glass and the Red Bull into a rocks glass. Instruct the drinker to drop the shot of Jaeger into the rocks glass and skull.
Jam Donut
A very sweet & delicious shooter that tastes like a Jam Donut. It’s not very strong and it used to be my go-to shooter before I came across of the Kamikaze.
Serve in a Shot glass
- 1/3 shot Chambord raspberry liqueur
- 2/3 shot Bailey’s Irish Cream
- Simple syrup (to wet the rim of glass)
- White sugar (to rim glass)
Line the rim of the shot glass with simple syrup. Rim the edges with white sugar. Add the Chambord and layer the Bailey’s on top.
Kamikaze (Serves 4)
The historian David Wondrich, believes that the Kamikaze may have been the original ‘shooter’ recipe, coming out of the 70s. It’s done a lot of damage ever since and it’s still ordered all over the world.
Despite its origins as a shooter, the Kamikaze has also evolved into a sophisticated cocktail recipe that’s it’s in the same league as the margarita and daiquiri. Essentially, it’s a margarita or daiquiri made with vodka.
Serve in a Shot glass
- 1 1/2 shots vodka
- 1 shot triple sec
- 1/2 shot fresh lime juice
Shake & strain into 4 shot glasses.
Lemon Drop (Serves 4)
This sweet & sour shooter is deceptively strong because of how great it tastes, it tastes like candy. It’s a great shooter for the ‘sour’ lovers out there.
Serve in a Shot glass
- 1 1/2 shot citrus vodka
- 1 shot triple sec
- 1/2 shot fresh lemon juice
- White sugar to rim the glass.
- 1 lemon wedge for garnish.
Line the rims of the shot glasses with simple syrup, then Rim the edges with white sugar. Shake & strain into 4 sugar-rimmed shot glasses. Instruct the drinker to shoot it and then bite into the lemon wedge after.
Red Headed Slut (Serves 4)
Also known as a ‘Ginger Bitch’ or a ‘Ginger Headed Slut,’ it’s a popular shot recipe made all over the world. The cranberry juice and shaking it over ice dilutes the alcoholic content enough to make it taste great without knocking your socks off.
Serve in a Shot glass
- 1 shot Jägermeister
- 1 shot peach schnapps
- 1 shot cranberry juice
Shake & strain into 4 shot glasses.
Skittle Bomb
As the name suggests, this bomb tastes like skittles. For customers who want a ‘bomb’ but they’re not fans of Jager, this is the perfect substitute – it’s delicious.
Serve in 1 Shot glass & 1 Rocks glass
- 1 shot triple sec
- 1/3 can Red Bull
Pour the triple sec into a shot glass and the Red Bull into a rocks glass. Instruct the drinker to drop the shot of triple sec into the rocks glass and skull.
Slippery Nipple
One of the stars from the 1980s, the slippery nipple is a humorously (or shockingly, depending on your perspective!) named shooter that tastes quite good too. It has many variations, which you can discover here, with the recipe below being the original.
Note: Many people confuse this shot with the ‘buttery nipple,’ which calls for butterscotch schnapps instead of sambuca.
Serve in a Shot glass
- 1/2 shot Sambuca
- 1/2 shot Bailey’s Irish Cream
Pour sambuca into your shot glass. Gently layer the Irish cream on top.
Tom the Bomb
A variation to the hand-grenade, I created this drink as a 22-year-old bartender in my first full-time hospitality job when I was serving Contiki Tours & hen parties. It combines a skittle bomb with a shot of tequila. Surprisingly, I gained a few loyal customers out of this drink. They started coming to our bar specifically to get smashed off this deadly concoction.
Serve in 2 Shot glasses & 1 Pint glass
- 1 shot Cointreau
- 1 shot tequila
- 1/2 can Red Bull.
Pour the Cointreau & tequila into separate shot glasses. Pout the red bull into a pint glass. Balance the shot glasses against the edges of the rim of the pint/rocks glass with the tequila balancing on top. Instruct the drinker to shoot the tequila. The Cointreau shot will drop into the red bull and then instruct the drinker to scull this ‘bomb’ in quick succession.
Vegas Bomb
Another deadly combination of caffeine, sugar and alcohol, the Vegas Bomb is one of the more popular bomb shooters out there. Its purpose – rocket-fuel for party goers in crazy party towns like Las Vegas & Ibiza.
Serve in 1 Shot glass & 1 Rocks glass
- 1/2 shot Candian whisky
- 1/2 shot butterscotch schnapps
- 1/2 can energy drink (usually red bull)
Pour the butterscotch schnapps into a shot glass. Layer the whisky on top. Pour the energy drink into a separate rocks glass. Instruct the drinker to drop the shot into the rocks glass and chug.
Wet Pussy (serves 4)
The wet pussy shot is quite popular among the young Australian & American female populations. Since it’s not as strong as some of the others, it’s perfect for guests who are already hammered or who you suspect get drunk really fast.
Serve ina Shot glass
- 3/4 shot vodka
- 3/4 shot peach schnapps
- 3/4 shot cranberry juice
- 3/4 shot fresh lime juice
Shake & strain into 4 shot glasses.
Conclusion
Regardless of where you work, it’s likely you’ll need to know a few good shot recipes. The 15 above are a great start, but there plenty of great shooters out there. So what about you? What recipes have you found work well behind the bar? Let me know in the comments section below. Bonus points if you’ve got a good story around it ;-).
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3 thoughts on “Top 15+ Best Shots & Shooter Recipes for 2019”
JACKYour blowjob is missing Amaretto, equal measures, layered topped with squirty whipped cream.A couple of these are just cocktails split into classes to be honest, also really shocked there wasn’t a brain damage on here!Apart from that, it’s an alright list!Reply
TOM BLAKEAbout Tom Blake
I’m Tom Blake, pro bartender, bar manager, avid traveller, author of ‘The Bartender’s Field Manual’ (our official bartender’s guide) and founder of the Crafty Bartending website. I’m determined to help you become a better bartender and live the bartending dream – whatever that may be. So stick around, read our guides, and check out the recipes, there’s a lot to learn so you might as well start now ;-).