It’s inauguration day. Most years that sentence would come with an exclamation point. This year, our optimism is tempered by the perpetual political exhaustion we’re all desperate to recover from. Plus we’re stuck at home, watching the inauguration on TV, rather than discussing the whole thing with friends at a bar.
We deserve a drink, at the very least. Something that sounds healing and restorative but is actually just boozy.
Enter the green tea shot. A college and dive bar newbie, this is a fun way to counteract the bite of Irish whiskey with a whole lot of fruity sweetness. No, there’s no green tea involved — that name comes from the greenish hue. But this shooter will relax you, both because of the alcohol and the fact that it’s really simple to make.
Easy to make; easy to drink. Sounds perfect for today. Let’s get shaking!
The Green Tea Shot
Ingredients:
- 1.5-oz. Jameson Irish Whiskey
- 1.5-oz. peach liqueur
- 1.5-oz. sour mix *
- Ice
- Optional: Sprite or 7-Up
This is a Jameson shot.
That doesn’t mean you have to use Jameson. If you have Jim Beam or Jack Daniels or whatever whiskey on the shelf that you usually mix with, use that. As for the peach liqueur, there’s no getting around how sweet that is. I’m using Bols, which is affordable and available everywhere.
Lastly, don’t let me stop you from using a store-bought sour mix. That being said, making your own sour mix is super easy and will bring a lot more fresh citrus brightness to this very saccharine shooter. See note below for the recipe before we move on.
*SOUR MIX: Add 1/2 cup simple syrup, 1/2 cup fresh and strained lemon juice (three to four lemons), and 1/4 cup fresh and strained lime juice (two to three limes) to a jar. Put the lid on the jar and shake vigorously until fully emulsified (no more than ten seconds). It’s ready!
What You’ll Need:
- Cocktail shaker
- Shot glasses
- Jigger
- Strainer
- Jar with lid
- Measuring cup
Method:
- Add equal measures of whiskey, peach liqueur, and sour mix into a cocktail shaker.
- Top up with ice.
- Affix shaker lid and shake until the outside of the shaker is ice-cold.
- Strain the shooter into shot glasses.
- Optional: Top with a dash of Sprite or 7-Up.
- Serve.
Bottom Line:
Most recipes call for you to add a splash of Sprite or 7-Up to the top of this shot. I disagree. The shot is already sweet enough. It simply doesn’t need more sweetness on top. Plus, if you make your own sour mix, it’ll already be lemon-limey enough, too.
Regardless of how you take it, you won’t taste the whiskey. At all. Which, for a drink like this, is sort of the point.
Bonus Version: White Tea Shot
If you don’t have whiskey on hand, you can make a white tea shooter with … vodka.
Basically, do the exact same thing as above and just switch out the whiskey for vodka, making it white instead of “green.”
I can’t that say I like this more or less. It’s just different. It’s a lot smoother and the lemon and lime really do stand out more. I tried this again (for posterity of course) with the Stoli Lime and it really popped.
If I had to choose between the two, I’d probably stick with the whiskey version — there’s a little more depth. Still, don’t make a liquor store run in a pandemic just to buy whiskey for shooters. This is also perfectly serviceable.
