Yes, not the most politically sensitive name for a cocktail you could come up with…Unbeknownst to me until now, the Irish Car Bomb was recently redubbed The Irish Slammer which of course brings up all kinds of other images I should leave away from this page…A jail that serves Guinness stout alongside shit on a shingle? A young dude from Dublin who, well, you know…

The car bomb was invented, believe it or not, in 1979, by a American dude named Charles Burke Cronin Oat in Wilson’s Saloon, Norwich, Connecticut. The actual time slot is a little odd because it predates, ish, the big time shot era in the eighties and nineties where you ordered a buttery nipple, a redheaded slut, a kamikaze, and so on and so forth. You see, the shot era was savagely ignited by a cocktail called Sex on the Beach and was so insanely popular it created a lurid legacy of dopplegangers which ended up becoming shots down the road. Often heralded the Dark Age of bartending from the 70s to the 90s. Yes, I remember minding my own business, having a beer or two and playing some pool and then some dolled up ambassador from an unknown brand would come around with a tray of shots and say “Here’s a round on us! They’re called Bad Touch Uncle! Becherovka, bourbon, Robitussin, a touch of sorrow and a lifetime of bad choices! Drink up!” Yes, each one of these shots invented before political correctness and the woke era had a horrible moniker, the Irish Car Bomb being the worst and most distasteful of them all.

The thing about the Irish Car Bomb is that the flavors are actually exceptional. Like really really good. But then why drop the shot in? Makes no sense at all. Just pour me a Guinness with the Irish whiskey and Bailey’s in it and call it a day.

This brings up a lot of issues I have with the classification of dropped shot cocktails. They really make no sense except if you want to shatter the teeth of an unsuspecting drunk person you dislike. I am guessing the original was probably a boilermaker. Again, just put the bourbon or whatever in the beer. Why drop it in at all? Well, I guess we all like something a little different and when you’re hanging with your buddies and getting trashed at some dive it lends the night a little more luster when a tray arrives and everyone has to drop a shot in and yada yada yada. But it’s all fun and games until someone has to go to the dentist and lie about why incisors number eight and nine are chipped and busted.

Anyway, for whatever reason I thought about this old saw the other night and decide to riff on it and distribute it to one of our trusting regulars. The result was, I must say, pretty magical. Sort of a no brainer right? Cream or dairy of some sort, a touch of sweetness, Irish whiskey, and stout. The cocktail makes itself.

Rising Storm?

Swirlie?

1.5 oz. Irish Whiskey or suitable substitute

1 oz. Whelk

.5 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

Smidgen of Simple Syrup

Shake and pour over crushed ice inside a rocks glass half full of stout

This tastes of chocolate and the sweet dream of nostalgia, youth, and hopefulness to come. Probably insanely good with a half ounce of Averna amaro added.

Your AI generated image for this post, #404.

No idea why the AI added rat droppings to the bartop…