B-52
Three layers, one sip.
The most famous layered shot: coffee liqueur, Irish cream and Grand Marnier, poured carefully one above the other. Sweet and velvety, it goes down in one sip, moving from coffee to cream to a finish of orange.
- After dinner
- Layered
- Glass
- Shot glass
- Method
- Layered
- Strength
- Medium
- Time
- 3 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Ice
- No ice
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
Coffee liqueur
20 ml
-
Irish cream liqueur
20 ml
-
Grand Marnier
20 ml
Proportions
How to make
- Chill a shot glass.
- Pour the coffee liqueur into the bottom.
- Layer the Irish cream over the back of a spoon.
- Layer the Grand Marnier on top.
- Serve at once, without stirring.
The story
Origins
ProbableA plausible account, without definitive proof.
The most common attribution has the B-52 created in 1977 by Peter Fich, head bartender at the Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, who reportedly named his drinks after favourite bands: in this case the B-52's, themselves named after a beehive hairdo resembling the bomber's nose. Other accounts circulate, including one placing it at Alice's Restaurant in Malibu in 1972 and another linking it to the Keg Steakhouse in Calgary, but none is documented. The drink is missing from a 1977 bar guide and appears in print in 1987, in The Bartender's Cherry. The IBA included it in its 2004 and 2011 lists and removed it in 2020.
Sources (5)
- Difford's Guide — B-52 Shot (opens in a new tab) recipe and history
- Wikipedia — B-52 (cocktail) (opens in a new tab) recipe and history
- Thirst Magazine — Layered drink B52 (opens in a new tab) recipe and history
- Wikipedia — List of IBA official cocktails (opens in a new tab) recipe
- IBA — All cocktails, page 1 (opens in a new tab) recipe
Taste profile
- Sweet
- 5 out of 5
- Creamy
- 4 out of 5
- Citrus
- 2 out of 5