B-52
A B-52 is a layered shot: 15ml of coffee liqueur, then 15ml of Irish cream floated on it, then 15ml of Grand Marnier floated on that, built in a chilled shot glass and taken in one. About 1.2 UK units. The Irish cream contains milk. Its origin is not well documented. The usual account credits Peter Fich, head bartender at the Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, who named his new drinks after bands, albums and songs he liked; this one, the story goes, after the B-52’s. It is also traced to the Keg Steakhouse in Calgary in 1977, and to Maxwell’s Plum in New York. The three settle in that order because each is lighter than the one under it. Cold bottles, a bar spoon and a slow hand are all the build needs. Drunk in one, the top layer arrives first: orange, then cream, then coffee.
Glassware: Shot Glass
Garnish: None: the layers are the show
Ingredients
15ml
Kahlúa, Tia Maria or similar. Strengths vary by brand, from the mid-teens to about 25% ABV. It carries the most sugar of the three, so it goes in first and stays at the bottom.
15ml
Baileys or similar, at about 17% ABV. It floats on the coffee liqueur and holds up the orange. It contains milk; leave the shot out for anyone with a dairy allergy.
15ml
Cognac and bitter orange, at 40% ABV, and lighter than the other two, so it floats on top. Cointreau or another triple sec is the usual swap.
Instructions
Chill a shot glass of 50 to 60ml and all three bottles.
Pour the coffee liqueur into the glass.
Hold a bar spoon upside down against the inside of the glass, just over the coffee liqueur, and pour the Irish cream slowly onto it.
Float the Grand Marnier over the Irish cream the same way.
Serve at once, to be taken in one.
Our version
There is no single published measure for the B-52. Ours pours three equal 15ml layers, measured, so each band is the same depth, with Grand Marnier on top rather than triple sec.
Source: our own specification. Last checked 10 October 2026.
Expert Tip
Chill all three bottles and the glass. Cold liqueur pours more slowly and settles more cleanly, and warm Irish cream is the usual reason the middle layer sinks into the coffee. Pour onto the back of a bar spoon held against the inside of the glass, just over the surface of the layer already there. The spoon spreads the stream so it lands across the surface instead of punching through it. Go slower than feels necessary. Measure all three. Equal 15ml layers give three bands of the same depth, and a heavy second pour presses down into the first before it settles.
Behind the B-52
Flavour Profile
Where It Comes From
The B-52’s origin is not well documented. The most repeated claim is Peter Fich’s, as head bartender at the Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta. He named his new drinks after bands, albums and songs, and this one is said to be named for the band, not directly for the bomber or the beehive hairstyle the band was named after.
One of his first customers for it owned restaurants in Alberta and put it on the menu, which is why it is also traced to the Keg Steakhouse in Calgary in 1977. A third claim places it at Maxwell’s Plum in New York.
Why the Layers Hold
Each liqueur is less dense than the one under it. Coffee liqueur carries the most dissolved sugar and sinks. Irish cream sits in the middle. Grand Marnier, with less sugar and more alcohol, floats on top.
Pour them in another order and the heavier liqueur falls through the lighter one, whatever the spoon is doing. The margins between them are small, which is why cold bottles and a slow pour matter.
The Pour
One movement, made twice. Hold a bar spoon upside down with the back of the bowl against the inside of the glass, just over the layer already there, and pour slowly onto the curve.
The spoon spreads the stream sideways, so the liquid arrives across the whole surface at low speed. Most failed attempts are pours that were too fast, and once two layers have marbled there is no fixing it.
The Numbered Family
The B-52 and three of its numbered variations
B-52
- Change from the B-52
- None: coffee liqueur, Irish cream, Grand Marnier
- What it tastes of on top
- Orange
- Allergen note
- Milk
B-51
- Change from the B-52
- Frangelico in place of Grand Marnier
- What it tastes of on top
- Hazelnut
- Allergen note
- Milk, nuts
B-53
- Change from the B-52
- Sambuca in place of Irish cream
- What it tastes of on top
- Orange over anise
- Allergen note
- None of the three
B-54
- Change from the B-52
- Amaretto in place of Grand Marnier
- What it tastes of on top
- Almond
- Allergen note
- Milk, nuts
| Shot | Change from the B-52 | What it tastes of on top | Allergen note |
|---|---|---|---|
| B-52 | None: coffee liqueur, Irish cream, Grand Marnier | Orange | Milk |
| B-51 | Frangelico in place of Grand Marnier | Hazelnut | Milk, nuts |
| B-53 | Sambuca in place of Irish cream | Orange over anise | None of the three |
| B-54 | Amaretto in place of Grand Marnier | Almond | Milk, nuts |
The Flaming Question
Lighting the top layer gives a low blue flame. Grand Marnier does not catch easily at room temperature, so bartenders who do it often warm it first or add a thin layer of overproof rum.
We leave it unlit. The flame heats the glass, which can crack, and the warmth starts the layers mixing. If you do light one, put it out before anyone drinks it, and never serve it with a straw.
How to Serve It
In a chilled shot glass, straight after it is built, in one swallow. The top layer reaches you first, so it goes orange, then cream, then coffee.
With one layer fewer, a Baby Guinness is coffee liqueur under Irish cream, and a Slippery Nipple is sambuca under Irish cream.
Make it at home
The Spirit
Coffee LiqueurCoffee liqueur is spirit flavoured with coffee and sweetened, usually bottled at 16 to 25% ABV: Kahlúa is 16% in the UK and Tia Maria 20%, and our recipe units take 20% unless a line names the bottle. It brings roast and sugar in one pour, so it seasons and sweetens at once. It is the liqueur in the Espresso Martini, the Black and White Russian and the layered coffee shots.
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you layer a B-52?
Why is it called a B-52?
What order do the layers go in?
Do you have to set it alight?
Why do my layers keep mixing?
Can I use Cointreau instead of Grand Marnier?
What are the B-51, B-53 and B-54?
How strong is a B-52?
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Baby Guinness
A Baby Guinness is a shot of coffee liqueur with a layer of Irish cream floated on top, so it looks like a tiny pint of stout: 30ml of cold coffee liqueur in a shot glass, then 10ml of Irish cream poured slowly over the back of a spoon. There is no Guinness in it. The name comes from the look. It is drunk in one, so the cream and the coffee arrive together. It tastes of sweet coffee and cream with little burn, because the two liqueurs are around 20% and 17% ABV, and the shot holds about 0.8 UK units. No one has a documented claim to it. It became a standard round in Irish pubs and beyond, and the only skill in it is the float: cold liqueur and a slow pour keep the head sharp.
Slippery Nipple
A Slippery Nipple is a layered shot of sambuca and Irish cream: 25ml of chilled white sambuca at the bottom of a shot glass and 25ml of Irish cream layered on it, poured gently over an upturned spoon. A drop of grenadine, sunk to the base before the cream goes on, is an optional extra that shows as a red dot under the clear sambuca. It is usually placed among the novelty shots of the 1980s. Nobody has claimed it, and the name was plainly chosen for the laugh at the bar. The drink is better than the joke: aniseed under cool cream tastes something like a liquorice sweet. It is taken in one, so both layers arrive together. A shot holds about 1.4 UK units, and the Irish cream contains milk.
Espresso Martini
An Espresso Martini is 50ml of vodka, 30ml of Kahlúa, 10ml of sugar syrup and one freshly pulled espresso of about 30ml, shaken hard for 10 to 12 seconds and double strained into a chilled martini glass, with three coffee beans laid on the foam. About 2.5 UK units, and the caffeine of a single shot. Dick Bradsell is usually credited with it, at the Soho Brasserie in London around 1983. His account was of a model who asked for a drink to wake her up and then mess her up; he never said who she was. The measures are the IBA’s. Vodka gives strength and cold without flavour, so the coffee leads. The foam comes from the crema of a shot pulled moments before the shake, which is why the espresso goes in last.
Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 11 October 2026