Irish Flag Shot
If you’re looking for a fun way to celebrate St Patricks day, this Irish flag shot is made by layering green, white, and orange drinks to mimic the Irish flag.
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Table of Contents
About Irish Flag Shot
Whether you’re celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day or just want to enjoy a little luck of the Irish, this Irish flag shot is sure-fire way to set a fun mood.
The Green, white, and orange perfectly capture the look of the Irish flag and are great for a themed party.
Now, I’m going to be straight with you: if you make this shot, do it for the look. In order to achieve the layered look with the correct colors, you have to use specific types of alcohol. And when these different drinks come together, the taste is very… interesting. It doesn’t taste bad, but it’s certainly an experience.
Trust me, anyone who takes this shot will be talking about it for years to come.
How to measure this shot
This shot is written like a standard drink recipe, meaning that instead of an exact measurement (ex: 1 cup) the recipe will read “1 part.”
This can sometimes be a little confusing, but I’ve found the best way to think of it as this: Recipes that measure in parts usually mean it’s written so that you can adjust the size of the drink to whatever you want and the measurements they give you (1 part, 1/2 part, etc) are so you can keep the ratio of the ingredients correct.
For example, let’s say you wanted to make one drink – this typically means you’re using 1 standard shot glass for measuring. So then when the recipe says “1 part” you would interpret that amount as “1 standard shot glass” full. If the recipe says “1/2 part” you’d fill the shot glass halfway so that it’s “1/2 standard shot glass.” OR, let’s say you wanted to make enough drinks for a few friends. When making the drink you could interpret “1 part” as “1 cup” (or “1/2 part” to “1/2 cup.”)
This way the drink will taste the same no matter what size you make it.
For this specific recipe, since it’s made in a single shot glass, for every “part” you would divide that by 1 shot glass to understand the amount to use. So since there are 3 parts to this recipe, you can interpret the measurement of each ingredient by being 1/3 of the shot glass.
How do you make an Irish flag shot?
Layered shots are always fun to put together, and their success hinges on two main points:
1 – Getting the right color and consistency for each layer of the drink.
To make sure your shot looks just like an Irish flag, you’ll need to track down these three drinks:
- First layer: Creme de Menthe (make sure it’s the green color, not clear)
- Second layer: Baileys Irish Cream
- Third Layer: Grand Marnier Orange Liqueur
For the first and second layer, there really are no substitutions. You will need the rich green hue of the Creme de Menthe as well as the chemical reaction that ensues when the Baileys Original Irish Cream comes into contact with it. When these two drinks touch, the Irish cream will curdle and thicken, which is what makes the layers you see possible.
As for the third layer, you do have a little wiggle room in using different brands or flavors – but be cautious. Grand Marnier orange is a great fit because the color is right and it’s very acidic, which is why it doesn’t blend with the cream layer. However, if you have a clear acidic drink you’d like to use instead, you can always mix it with a bit of food coloring and then layer it on top. Just be sure to do a small-scale test of the layering before wasting precious Creme de Menthe and Baileys on a botched third layer.
2 – It’s best to use a tall, narrow shot glass.
Over the years I’ve tried to make this drink work in different glasses, but alas, it has all been in vain. The best (and easiest!) way to make this drink is just how it’s shown: in a tall, narrow shot glass.
So before making this drink, I highly recommend you have these tools on hand:
- Tall shot glasses
- 3 squeeze bottle for better accuracy when pouring the shot.
- A small spoon or knife that’s small enough to reach near the bottom of the shot glass.
So to put all of the above together, assembling this shot looks like this:
Other festive Irish recipes
More recipes with Baileys
Irish Flag Shot
Ingredients
Instructions
- For better control in constructing this shot, I recommend using a squeeze bottle for each of the three different alcohols used.
- In a tall shot glass, add one part creme de menthe (about 1/3 of the shot glass).
- Insert a small spoon into the shot glass, upside down, so that the tip of the spoon is submerged in the top of the creme de menthe. Very slowly, pour the Baileys over the back of the spoon so that it slides off and gently comes into contact with the creme de menthe. Continue pouring until the Baileys Irish Cream layer is 1/3 the size of the shot glass.
- Wipe off your spoon, then insert it back into the shot glass, upside down, with the tip submerged in the top of the Baileys Irish Cream. Like with the previous layer, slowly pour the Grand Mariner over the back of the spoon. Fill the shot glass up the rest of the way with Grand Marnier.
- Drink and enjoy!
Nutrition
I do my best to provide nutrition information, but please keep in mind that I’m not a certified nutritionist. Any nutritional information discussed or disclosed in this post should only be seen as my best amateur estimates of the correct values.
