Irish Car Bomb Alternative
A shot of Irish whiskey and Irish cream dropped into a half-pint of stout and drunk at once. The Irish Slammer — the 1979 Connecticut bomb shot under the name Irish bars prefer — creamy, bitter and gone in five seconds.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Pour the stout into a pint glass and let it settle.
Pour the Irish cream into a shot glass and float the whiskey on top.
Drop the shot glass into the stout.
Drink it straight down, at once, before the cream curdles.
A thoughtful finish
- Drink it in one; the cream curdles in the stout within ten seconds.
- Half a pint of stout, not a full one — it must be drinkable in a gulp.
- Call it an Irish Slammer in an Irish bar, or do not order it.
Common mistakes
- Sipping it.
- A full pint.
- Ordering it by the original name in Ireland.
A few good questions.
What does an Irish Slammer taste like?
Creamy, sweet and bitter all at once — stout and Baileys with a whiskey kick, gone before you think about it.
Why not the original name?
It refers to the Troubles and is offensive in Ireland; Irish Slammer or Dublin Drop are the accepted names.
Who invented it?
Charles Oat at Wilson's Saloon, Norwich, Connecticut, 1979.
Why does it curdle?
The stout's acidity curdles the cream liqueur; hence the speed.
Variations
- Boilermaker — A shot of whiskey with a beer.
- Black and Tan — Pale ale and stout, layered.
- Pickleback — Whiskey with a pickle-brine chaser.
- Jägerbomb — Jägermeister dropped into an energy drink.
Where it comes from
1979 · Norwich, Connecticut · Charles Burke Cronin Oat · Wilson's Saloon
Charles Oat, the owner of Wilson’s Saloon in Norwich, Connecticut, made the drink in 1979 — Baileys and Kahlúa in a shot glass, then Jameson, then dropped into a glass of Guinness — and gave it a name that referred to the Troubles and that Irish bars have refused to say for forty years; most now call it an Irish Slammer, a Dublin Drop or an Irish Bomb, and this site uses the first. It is a bomb shot in the Boilermaker family: the shot goes into the beer and the whole thing is drunk before the cream curdles in the stout’s acid, which takes about ten seconds. The Kahlúa dropped out early. It is an American drink, not an Irish one, and a St. Patrick’s Day ritual on American campuses.
Sources
- Difford's Guide, Irish Slammer, 2010 (reference)
- Liquor.com, Irish Slammer, 2019 (reference)
- Norwich Bulletin, Charles Oat interview, 2010 (news)
Strength. About 1.04 US standard drinks at an estimated 5.7% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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