A shooter is a style of mixed drink designed to be consumed in one or two gulps, usually served in a shot glass or similar small-capacity glass. Unlike a straight pour of a single spirit, a shooter is typically composed of multiple ingredients, often including liqueurs or syrups.
The shooter’s precursors include drinks such as the Knickebein—a nineteenth century after-dinner drink composed of liqueurs (often maraschino, crème de noyaux, and curaçao), topped with a whole egg yolk and, depending on the recipe, a little cognac or kirschwasser, or a puff of meringue—and the Angel’s Tit (or Angel’s Tip), an early twentieth-century drink composed of crème de cacao, whipped cream, and a cherry. See
The final quarter of the twentieth century was a heyday for shooter-style drinks, and the style remains robust in many bars and clubs, especially those catering to a younger clientele. Starting in the mid-1970s, the Kamikaze opened the path. See Kamikaze. Typical of what followed is the B-52 (named either for the type of bomber flown during the Vietnam War or the New Wave band, depending on the origin story), with coffee liqueur, Irish cream liqueur, and curaçao layered together in a glass. The B-52 begat variations such as the B-54 (with amaretto in place of the curaçao) and B-55 (with absinthe). Some shooters follow the questionable-taste nomenclature standard established by the Angel’s Tit, such as the Slippery Nipple (sambuca and Irish cream), Redheaded Slut (Jägermeister, peach schnapps, and cranberry juice), and the Duck Fart (layered coffee liqueur, Irish cream, and Canadian whisky), while others are inspired by pop culture, such as the Incredible Hulk (Hpnotiq liqueur and cognac) and the Papa Smurf (blue mint liqueur and Irish cream).
Some drinks enjoy life both as a shooter and as a full cocktail. The Lemon Drop is one such drink, and the Kamikaze itself had a steady run as a popular shot and as a cocktail in the late twentieth century (as the latter, it spawned the mighty Cosmopolitan). See Cosmopolitan and Lemon Drop.
A staple of college bars and clubs, the shooter was initially disdained by bartenders during the early years of the twenty-first-century cocktail resurgence, but the style has gradually crept into use. Some shooters are simply classic cocktails mixed in a short form such as the Snaquiri (a shot-size Daiquiri), while others are lightly masqueraded classics, such as the Nolita, a shooter of Punt e Mes, rye whisky, and Angostura bitters. Other shooters reflect the popularity of Italian amari and other bitter flavors in the cocktail realm, with two ingredients often mixed in equal parts: the Hard Start is a combination of Fernet-Branca and Branca Menta; the Ferrari, Fernet-Branca and Campari; and the Maserati, mezcal and Amaro Ramazzotti.
Bohrer, Andrew. The Best Shots You’ve Never Tried. Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2012.
Cole, Jennifer V. “How the 50/50 Became More Than Just a Shot.” Punch, September 7, 2016, http://punchdrink.com/articles/how-the-ferrari-became-more-than-just-a-shot-amaro-cocktails/ (accessed March 11, 2021).
Difford, Simon. Difford’s Encyclopedia of Cocktails. Ontario: Firefly, 2009.
Hofmann, Regan. “The Craft Cocktail’s Final Frontier: Shooters.” Punch, October 20, 2015. http://punchdrink.com/articles/craft-cocktail-bars-final-frontier-composed-shooters-and-shots/ (accessed March 11, 2021).
Knockerville, Johnny. “Incredible Hulk.” Liquor.com, October 19, 2015. http://www.liquor.com/recipes/incredible-hulk/.
Regan, Gary. The Joy of Mixology: The Consummate Guide to the Bartender’s Craft. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2003.
By: Paul Clarke