Alabama Slammer Shot
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 17% ABV ∙
The Alabama Slammer Shot shakes amaretto, a Southern-style whisky liqueur, and sloe gin with orange and lemon juice, fine-strained into a chilled shot glass. Cherry-almond sweetness leads, sloe gin adds a berry-tart edge, and a quick citrus snap closes it out — a fast, fruity round for a group.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Amaretto liqueur 15 mlSouthern / Louisiana-style whisky liqueur 15 mlSloe gin 15 mlOrange juice 10 mlLemon juice 10 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Garnish with a maraschino cherry
Tips
- Shake all five components hard with plenty of ice for a full 10-12 seconds; the equal-parts liqueur build needs vigorous dilution to keep it from tasting syrupy.
- Fine-strain into the shot glass to catch ice shards, since the small serving size means even tiny fragments noticeably dilute each sip.
- Measure the orange and lemon juice precisely at 10 ml each; because the total pour is so small, a slight excess of citrus will overpower the three liqueurs.
- Skewer the maraschino cherry on a pick resting across the rim rather than dropping it in, keeping the shot glass fully drinkable in one go.
History
The Alabama Slammer is generally traced to the 1970s in or around the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where it became popular with college crowds as a drink served by the shot or by the pitcher at football tailgates for the Crimson Tide. Its earliest known printed recipe appeared in the 1971 edition of the Playboy Bartender's Guide by Thomas Mario, calling for Southern Comfort, sloe gin, amaretto, and lemon juice rather than orange juice, which places its origin at the very start of the decade or possibly the late 1960s by some accounts. Harry's Bar in Tuscaloosa has claimed to be its birthplace, though that bar did not open until 1972, a year after the drink's first print appearance, making the claim doubtful. The recipe was revised in the 1984 Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide, still with lemon juice, before orange juice became the standard substitute in later versions. The drink is also sometimes called the Southern Slammer, and its "Slammer" name reflects its original form as a shot meant to be downed quickly. No single inventor is documented, and a popular but unsubstantiated claim credits football quarterback Brett Favre with popularizing the drink, though it was already common on college campuses in the 1980s before his career began.
