Irish Car Bomb Recipe: Stout, Whiskey and Irish Cream

Ingredients

½ oz Baileys Irish CreamBuy on Amazon →
½ oz Irish whiskeye.g. Jameson · Bushmills · Tullamore D.E.W. · Redbreast · Powers
8½ oz stout such as Guinnesse.g. Guinness · Murphy's · Beamish

Garnish: None · Ice: Served up, no ice

Method

Pour the stout into a pint glass until it is about three quarters full and let the head settle.
Pour the Baileys into a shot glass.
Float the Irish whiskey on top by pouring it slowly over the back of a bar spoon.
Drop the shot glass into the stout and drink promptly.

Watch it made

Irish Car Bomb

Taste

Malty and roasty stout with sweet Irish cream and a warm whiskey kick. Creamy, and it must be drunk quickly before it curdles.

History and origin

Despite the name, this drink is an American invention. It is usually traced to a bar in Connecticut in the late 1970s, where the combination of Irish cream, Irish whiskey and stout was first served as a drop shot. The name refers to the car bombings of the Northern Ireland conflict.

For that reason the name is widely considered offensive, especially in Ireland and the UK, where ordering it by that name is likely to be refused. Many bars list the drink as an Irish Slammer or Irish Bomb instead. The technique, a shot dropped into beer, belongs to the same family as the Boilermaker and the Jägerbomb.

Bartender tips

Serve it at once; the acidity of the beer curdles the cream within a minute.
Use a sturdy shot glass and drop it gently to avoid chipping glass or splashing.
Order it as an Irish Slammer, especially in Ireland or the UK, where the original name gives offence.

Variations

Boilermaker: A shot of whiskey dropped into or served alongside a glass of beer.
Irish Slammer: The same drink under a name that avoids reference to the conflict.