TGI Friday’s B52 shot looks fantastic. Pour slowly and you will have a beautifully layered drink.
Creamy Caramel Shot
TGI Fridays has great bartenders that can pour some pretty delicious specialty cocktails, but you don’t have to be a professional barkeep to make one of the most iconic shooters out there, the B-52 shot.
The B-52 is known for its three distinct layers of alcohol and a creamy caramel taste with just a hint of citrus to keep things from getting overly sweet. If you haven’t ever tried the B-52 before, it is definitely worth a shot (or two).
No, It is Not Named After the B-52 Bomber
Don’t call it a B-52 Bomber, and for heaven’s sake, don’t set it on fire and call it a “Flaming B-52 Bomber”. The name comes from the quirky, new wave Southern band, The B-52’s.
Peter Fich, a Canadian barman, created the shot to mimic the colors of the outrageous beehive wigs that the women in his favorite band, The B-52’s, wore.
What’s in a B-52 Shot?
The three B-52 shot ingredients are:
- Kahlua Coffee Liqueur Kahlua is a sweet coffee-flavored liqueur from Mexico. At just 20 percent ABV, this rum-infused is more popular for its flavor profile than its intoxication ability. If you can’t find Kahlua Coffee Liqueur near you, you can use Tia Maria or another coffee-flavored spirit as an alternative.
- Bailey’s Irish Cream Made with cocoa, cream, Irish whiskey, Bailey’s is an essential ingredient in many cocktails. While it comes in several varieties including, almond milk, stick to the original for this recipe. If you don’t want to spend a lot, you can consider O’Mara’s Irish Country Cream,
- Grand Mariner This renowned French orange-flavored liqueur combines bitter oranges and fine cognac with a bit of sugar and other secret ingredients to produce a drink that is equally at home sipped by itself or as part of a cocktail. There are substitutes, like Cointreau, that have a similar taste but isn’t the same color if you care about such things.
How to Layer Alcohol in a Shot
While pouring a shot so each type of liquor stays separate won’t radically alter the flavor of the drink. But what it will do is look gosh darn cool.
Besides, it’s pretty easy to pull off after a few practice drinks and will give you a ton of cred as a home bartender. The effect depends on the specific gravity of each alcohol and careful pouring.
How to Make a B52 Shot
- Pour the Kahlua into the shot glass. Make sure not to splash the sides.
- Turn a bar spoon over with the back of the spoon pointing up. Place the tip of the spoon just over the Kahlua and very slowly pour the Bailey’s over the spoon into the glass.
- Finally, use the spoon in the same way to top with Grand Mariner.
Tips for Serving the B-52 Shot
- Serve in a thinner, taller shot glass for greater effect. You can also use a cordial or any other smaller glass you have.
- Pop the glasses in the freezer. Cold glasses and ingredients make pouring a B-52 shot easier.
- A speed pourer, that little device bars attach to the top of bottles, makes pouring layered drinks easier.
Check out more cocktail recipes on YouTube!
CopyKat Tip: When layering liquor, gently pour it over the back of a spoon to keep the layers from mixing while pouring.
Love TGI Friday’s? Try these copycat recipes!
Favorite Cocktail Recipes
- Homemade Kahlua
- Italian Margarita
- Jello Shot
- Mudslide Cocktail
- Painkiller Drink
- Perfect Margarita
- Washington Apple Shot
- White Russian Cocktail
- Zombie Drink
Check out more of my easy cocktail recipes and the best copycat recipes for casual dining restaurants here on CopyKat!
TGI Friday’s B52 Shot
Ingredients
- 1/2 ounce Kahlua Coffee Liqueur
- 1/2 ounce Bailey's Irish Cream
- 1/2 ounce Grand Mariner
Instructions
- Pour Kahlua into a shot glass.
- Gently pour Bailey's on top.
- Gently pour Grand Mariner on top.
Chrysithemis
The picture shows Baileys in the middle and Gran Marnier on top, whereas the recipe has them reversed.
B
Easiest way to layer is to pour on the back of a spoon into the glass
sondra
Layering a drink is easiest if you measure each successive liquor into a measuring glass, and then use the measuring glass to pour the liquor along your bar spoon and into the serving glass. The bar spoons twisted handle will allow you to slow the progress of the alcohol from the measuring glass to the serving glass and minimize the amount that your two ingredients will mix. The goal is to pour the successive ingredients so gently that they don’t break the surface tension maintained by the previous ingredient, which should mean that the two liquids won’t mix at all.
Take your bar spoon and flip it both horizontally and vertically from the way that you would normally hold a spoon so that the bowl of the spoon is in your hand opposing your index finger. Nestle the twisted portion of the spoon over the pouring lip of your measuring glass, and place the end of the spoon against the inside of the pousse café glass. Holding the concave spoon portion of the bar-spoon will make it harder to use it to eat your Cheerios, but should give you more control over the speed of the pour and the orientation of the bar spoon. If the alcohol is not already pouring along the length of the spoon, slowly increase the angle of the spoon and measuring glass until the alcohol begins to trickle down the length of the spoon into the drink.
If this is done slowly enough, your second layer of alcohol should have trickled onto the top of the first and should float lightly on top. If the drink you’re making has more layers, continue to use the measuring glass and slowly pour the drink. As you gain experience, you will be able to speed up the process a bit, but you’ll never be able to build layered drinks quickly.
Stephanie
Thanks so much for your explanation of how this works. I basically know to pour everything very carefully and most of the time I can get this to come out well.
Thanks for sharing!
Stephanie