Difford's Guide
Discerning Drinkers (60 ratings)
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How to make:
- Select a Shot glass.
- Refrigerate ingredients.
- LAYER in chilled glass by carefully pouring in the following order.
| 1/2 fl oz | Galliano Espresso Coffee liqueur |
| 1/2 fl oz | Irish cream liqueur |
| 1/2 fl oz | Grand Marnier or other cognac orange liqueur |
Read about cocktail measures and measuring.
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Recipe contains the following allergens:
- Irish cream liqueur –Dairy
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Review:
Probably the best-known and most popular shot-style cocktail.
Variant:
There is a whole family of B-... shots:
B-51 = coffee + Irish cream + hazelnut liqueur
B-52 with Bomb Bay Doors = coffee liqueur + Irish cream liqueur + Grand Marnier + Bombay Original gin
B-52 Frozen = blend coffee + Irish cream + Grand Marnier with crushed ice
B-52 in the Desert / B-52 with a Mexican Tailgunner = coffee liqueur + Grand Marnier + tequila
B-52 with a Full Payload = coffee liqueur + Irish cream liqueur + Grand Marnier + hazelnut liqueur + float of lit overproof rum
B-53 = coffee + Irish cream + vodka or = coffee liqueur + Sambuca + Grand Marnier
B-54 = coffee + Irish cream + amaretto
B-55 / B-52 Gunship = coffee liqueur + Irish cream liqueur + absinthe
B-57 = coffee liqueur + peppermint schnapps + Grand Marnier
B-156 = an oversized B-52 served in an old-fashioned glass
B-5200 = coffee + Irish cream + Navy rum
F-16 = coffee + Irish cream + light white rum
History:
A bartender named Peter Fich is most often credited for creating this cocktail in 1977 while working at the Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, Canada.
The 1977 date of origin fits when cocktail books of the era are checked. For example, the B-52 doesn't make it into Jones' Complete Barguide, published that very year as "The most comprehensive and up to date collection of drink recipes (4,000)." Ten years on, the B-52, B-53, and B-54 all make it into The Bartender's Cherry published 1987.
Apparently, Fich tended to name his cocktail creations after his favourite bands, their songs, or albums - one such band being The B-52s. The band, which formed in 1976, was named after the beehive hairstyle that adorned vocalist Cindy Wilson, the shape of which resembled the nosecone of the B-52 bomber. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, a U.S. high-altitude bomber, was built between 1952 and 1962 and entered service as a long-range nuclear bomber. So this layered shot is named after a band, named after a hairstyle, named after a bomber. Hence, the roundabout truth is that this shot takes its name from the B-52 bomber.
Nutrition:
One serving of B-52 Shot contains 130 calories.
Alcohol content:
- 0.8 standard drinks
- 26.36% alc./vol. (52.72° proof)
- 11.9 grams of pure alcohol
More Layered cocktails
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Difford's Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.
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Guy Fawkes / Bonfire Night Cocktails
Remember, remember the fifth of November Gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason, why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot.
National Nacho Day
Not a fan of nachos? Then today is nacho lucky day! Yes, today is National Nacho Day, a day dedicated to those delicious fried tortilla chips that we love
National Harvey Wallbanger Day
Of all the cocktails to have its very own day, the Harvey Wallbanger is probably the most surprising. But, yes, Harvey Wallbanger Day is a thing in American.
Irish Coffee arrived in America this day
The splendidly named Stanton Delaplane, a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, may have won a Pulitzer Prize for Reporting, but his legacy remains
Happy Hour Day
Every hour should be happy but in most bars, this term does not reflect a collective state of joyousness but a period of comparatively cheap booze. Not
National Espresso Day
Essentially a shot of 'get up and go', the espresso is a firm favourite amongst coffee drinkers and goes incredibly well in a cocktail we think.
