My friend came home from a trip to Europe last year with a story I knew I would have to share in this column. A paraphrasing of said great story: “I was in Dublin with some friends on our way to a Saint Patrick's Day parade. Brian decided he wanted a drink before we got to the parade, so we went into a nearby pub. Brian walked up to the old bartender and asked, ‘can I have an Irish Car Bomb?’ I couldn’t believe he had said that, fearing how Irish people might react to such a violently named drink. The bartender responded as if he was going to hit him: ‘What did you say?’ But instead of punching him, the bartender just asked what was in the drink. After Brian explained the drink (see below), the bartender called over another bartender and asked my friend to repeat the drink to him, in part because people in Ireland generally don’t chug Guinness. Before I knew it, a crowd gathered around, and everyone started doing Car Bombs together. Afterward, a lot of people shook Brian’s hand, calling him Mr. Car Bomb. I’m convinced that when I go back to Dublin one day, Car Bombs are going to be all over and that pub will have a banner saying ‘Home of the Irish Car Bomb.’”

With this crowing intercultural moment fresh in your mind, let’s look at some of the most popular bomb drinks.

Irish Car Bomb

½ shot Irish cream, usually Bailey’s
½ shot Irish whiskey, usually Jameson
4 ounces Guinness Stout

Pour Guinness into a pint glass and allow to settle for a minute or so. Pour Bailey’s and then whiskey into a shot glass. Drop the shot into the Guinness and chug quickly, before the drink curdles.

Sake Bomb

1½ ounce of (warm) sake
4 ounces beer, usually a Japanese beer like
Asahi, Kirin or Sapporo

Pour beer into a pint glass, and sake into a sake cup or shot glass. While you can just drop the shot of sake into the beer and chug, people often prefer a more elaborate set-up. Place a set of flat chopsticks on top of the beer glass, closer together than the width of the shot glass. Balance the shot on top of the chopsticks and slam your hands down on the table, one on each side of the glass. The jolt will cause the shot to fall into the beer, so you can chug it.

In its most common form, Jägerbomb drinkers drop one shot of Jägermeister into 125 milliliters of Red Bull (half of a can), but there are endless versions of this simple drink. Other variations range from dropping one shot of Red Bull into 125 milliliters of Jäger to replacing Jäger with cherry schnapps, orange-flavored rum or Sambuca. Soda and other energy drinks an also be used in place of Red Bull.

Enjoy one to mix up your drinking patterns next time you and your friends are thinking about taking shots.