“Let’s do shots!” can be the battle cry of the weekend warrior looking to cut loose. There’s no shame in this if you’ve taken precautions to get home safely. But a shot shouldn’t just be viewed as some random slug of a spirit or liqueur. It’s an honorable gesture in its purest form: a liquid exclamation point that punctuates a tremendous bar experience.
Shots also fortify a bar’s “third space” ethos by building community. This is what makes shots fun and celebratory, whether you and your buds slam a round of well tequila, or if you and your bartender nerd out over an esoteric shot of amaro.
“Shots are definitely part of bar culture, and part of bartending culture as a whole,” says Jonah Gibbs, beverage director at Petite Boheme in Las Vegas. “There’s always something to celebrate, even if it’s just surviving work on a Tuesday.”
Honor among bartenders
Shots are sacred within the bartending community. They’re quick, easy ways to welcome a fellow industry worker when they belly up to the bar. There’s also a “game recognizing game” element in play. A shot can be a sign of respect and appreciation.
It can also provide a bartender a unique outlet to share a new discovery. These moments can be equal parts fun, nerdy, and educational.
“I always find that when I’m sharing a spirit I enjoy shooting, or another bartender is sharing a cheeky shot they love, there is always a story behind the choice, not only the flavor notes of the selection, but also the story of the spirit itself, and often the story of how we fell in love with that expression,” says Wes Meyn, bartender at Thunderbolt in Los Angeles. “Sharing the story of a spirit, and our connection to it, is part of the anthropology of bartending that I love so much.”
The “Bartender’s Handshake”
Most shots poured at a bar are unfussy spirits or liqueurs with easy, agreeable flavor profiles like blanco tequila. “Bartender’s handshakes” are special shots that consist typically of strong, triple-digit-proof spirits, or liqueurs and modifiers with intense or unorthodox flavor profiles. It can be an “if you know you know” wink that forges kinship and acknowledges bartenders’ unique attraction to the funkier corners of the bar shelf.
Bartenders are more than happy to let any curious guest try these industry calling cards. They’re also wise enough to not push them on others that aren’t potentially into them.
“If I’m with a group of friends, I’m definitely more apt to shoot something that everybody enjoys,” says Carly Lacoste, bartender at Compère Lapin in New Orleans. “I know my favorite isn’t well-liked, so I’m down to order a more crowd-pleasing round.”
There are times when just a good, old fashioned shot will do perfectly. With that in mind, we asked a few bartending experts what they reach for when it’s time for them to shoot their shot.
Agua Del Sol Espadín Mezcal
Food & Wine / Bad Hombre Importing LLC
It’s appropriate that Agua Del Sol’s label looks like embroidered stitchwork. A quick shot of this roughly 96 proof mezcal embraces the palate like a warm, cozy sweater with its balance of gentle smokiness and citric sweetness. The bottle’s proof is approximate: Its ABV varies by a few tenths here and there, part of what makes it charming.
“I love Agua Del Sol because, as with many agave spirits, it changes often based on agave production and the distiller’s techniques with each batch released,” says Meyn. “This makes it something familiar and comfortable that is also living, breathing, and changing.”
Fernet Branca
Food & Wine / FRATELLI BRANCA DISTILLERIE S.p.A.
Arguably the most famous of bartender’s handshakes, this old-school Italian amaro is slightly mysterious. Its recipe is “known to only one living soul,” according to its website. Its signature bittersweet, herbaceous flavor profile can wake up a bartender’s palate after a long shift.
“I’ve never really been someone who drinks just for the sake of drinking, so enjoying a spirit’s flavor is very important to me if I’m shooting it,” says Lacoste. “The herbal flavors and bitterness of Fernet make taking a shot a much more enjoyable experience.”
Fernet Branca is a digestif, a spirit traditionally enjoyed after dinner to aid digestion. As such, a shot of Fernet after a big meal could make you feel better in more ways than one.
Old Grand-Dad 114
Food & Wine / James B. Beam Distilling Co.
Old Grand-Dad’s product line of 80-, 100-, and 114-proof expressions enjoy a cult following with bartenders. The 114 is the popular shooting option, as its heightened flavors hang around well after it’s swallowed.
“If I’m shooting a whiskey, I want the flavor to be bold and rich, with something that lingers, says Gibbs. “For me, Old Grand-Dad 114 brings the big proof along with the big flavors I like.”
Of course, this only matters if the flavors are terrific. In 114’s case, pops of vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, and brown sugar make their presence felt. These flavors may inspire you to ask for a proper dram during your next bar visit.
Braulio
Food & Wine / Braulio
Like Fernet, Braulio is an Italian amaro. However, it’s an Alpine amaro, which means the digestif mainly builds its distinctive herbaceousness from ingredients plucked from the Italian side of the Alps. It imbues rich notes of clove and dried fruit, but it also delivers a unique sense of place that can be transformative even within a shot.
“Braulio boasts a lovely complexity that is a little more nuanced than fan favorites like Fernet,” says Meyn.
Like other amari, Braulio can age over time. Its flavor profile could evolve and develop deeper, more nuanced flavors. This can make hunting down unopened older Braulio bottles a fun activity should shooting inspire sipping over time.
“That’s one of the fun parts about amaro,” says Meyn. “I’ve been lucky enough to try Braulio from the 1940s and the 1950s, and have been delighted by the massive differences in flavor created by production methods and aging in glass over time.”
Jeppson’s Malört
Food & Wine / CH Distillery. Jeppson’s Malort
If Fernet is the most famous bartender’s handshake, Malört is far and away the most infamous one. The unapologetically harsh grapefruit- and wormwood-forward digestif from Chicago has a reputation as a terrible novelty shot. But some bartenders dig its aggressiveness.
“It can, and does, definitely scare people,” says LaCoste. “But I love Malört because of its intense bitterness.”
Malört’s notoriety is such that it can be hard to differentiate legit tasting notes from sarcastic reactions online (although notes of gasoline seems to be a shared trait of both). Still, the bottle’s suspect character may compel you to do a shot of it at least once. That way, you can say that you either hate it or profess that you think it’s actually good.
Tequila Ocho Blanco
Food & Wine / Tequila Ocho
Shooting blanco tequila will never go out of style at a bar. But to shoot tequilas hopped up with additives that mask the spirit’s signature earthy, grassy flavors has fallen out of fashion with bartenders.
“If I’m shooting tequila, I want expressiveness and that clean taste that comes with being additive-free,” says Gibbs. “If the aftertaste is artificial, I’m thinking more about how bad the tequila was and why I was shooting it in the first place.”
Gibbs reaches for Tequila Ocho Blanco because it’s the polar opposite of an additive-laden tequila. Crisp, clean agave flavors anchor its profile, supported by hints of minerality, citrus, and pepper. Thanks to people getting more educated about tequila, the bottle has gone a little more mainstream.
“Ocho is getting easier to find,” he says. “Thankfully, it still has retained a reasonable price point, and of course the flavor is great.”
