Fifth Avenue Shot
Layer ∙ 2 min ∙ 16% ABV ∙
The Fifth Avenue Shot is a layered dessert shooter of brown crème de cacao, apricot brandy liqueur, and cream, built in a shot glass. Cream lands first, cool and smooth, then the apricot brandy's fruit, with thick sweet chocolate waiting underneath for a dessert-like finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Refrigerate all ingredients
- Carefully layer in the chilled glass in the following order: Brown crème de cacao 15 mlApricot brandy liqueur 15 mlWhipping cream 15 ml
Tips
- Build in order of density: crème de cacao first, apricot brandy liqueur next, then whipping cream, pouring lightest last for a clean top layer.
- Chill the cream and liqueurs beforehand so the layers separate cleanly instead of blending from temperature differences.
- Use a steady, thin stream rather than a splash when adding the cream, since a heavy pour will punch through the liqueur layer below.
History
The Fifth Avenue Shot is a layered variant of the Fifth Avenue, an American pousse-café-style drink built from brown crème de cacao, apricot brandy, and cream poured in careful layers rather than shaken. Consumer recipe sources trace the Fifth Avenue itself to the early 20th century, naming it for Manhattan's fashionable Fifth Avenue shopping district, though no single inventor or bar is documented. Some catalogs place the drink among the pousse-café recipes popularized in 1930s bartending guides of the era, part of a wider vogue for multicolored layered "pousse-café" drinks that had migrated from France to American bars decades earlier. The shot-glass version simply presents the same three-ingredient build in miniature, layered by density rather than mixed, in keeping with the pousse-café tradition of showing off distinct colored bands rather than blending flavors.
FAQ
What is in a Fifth Avenue Shot?
Brown crème de cacao, apricot brandy liqueur, and cream, layered in equal parts in a shot glass. It is a vegetarian-friendly shooter with about 138 calories per serving.
Is a Fifth Avenue Shot shaken or layered?
Layered, not shaken. Each ingredient has a different density, so pouring them slowly in sequence lets them sit in distinct bands rather than blending together.
What glass is a Fifth Avenue Shot served in?
A shot glass. Its narrow shape helps the three layers of crème de cacao, apricot brandy liqueur, and cream stay visually separated.
How strong is a Fifth Avenue Shot?
It comes in at about 16% ABV, milder than most straight liquor shots because two of the three ingredients are a liqueur and cream rather than a hard spirit.
