As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
The Best Alcohol for Shots in 2022
Drinking shots can be great fun. If consumed in moderation and deployed with common sense (I know, this can be very difficult once you get rolling), alcohol shots can make a good evening great, turn a cold night warm, or make a movie more interesting. While you can go old school, downing a whiskey shot with a beer chaser, there are a million different variations of alcohol you can put into a shot recipe to make it tasty and exciting.
Just don’t use red wine in shots ok? It’s weird. Drink wine from a “goon bag” off a clothesline instead, as the Australians do. Check out this bunch of different drinks you can use for making shots and add something different to your drinks menu playlist.
Tequila and Mezcal
When I hear the words alcohol shots I go straight towards tequila (narrowly ahead of a smooth vodka). Whether it’s Silver/Blanco, Reposado, or Gold, there’s a type out there to warm your bones, and get you feeling loose.
Take some table salt and nestle around a spoonful in the webbing between thumb and forefinger (non-drinking hand), while holding a lemon wedge (can be subbed for lime) in the same hand.
Smash a shot of straight tequila (or it’s wilder cousin Mezcal), lick the salt off your hand, and then suck the lemon. It’s pretty simple!
Best Buy
1. Patron Silver
My personal choice when the topic of hard liquor shots gets raised. I always make a beeline for Patron Silver when traveling through duty-free on the way home from the airport.
Patron tequila is a no-nonsense top quality drop. When downed as a tequila shot it’s almost second to none. It’s at an excellent price point for a premium tequila your home bar can rely on when entertaining.
2. Espolon Blanco Tequila
Espolon Blanco tequila honors Mexico’s art and history, and the story of Espolon – the spur of a rooster – is great for starting conversations.
With the lead in 750 ml bottle priced at under $30 and crafted in Jalisco from 100% Blue Agave plant, it’s a good tequila at a bargain price. A simple tequila like this one is useful to pour more liberally than a more expensive Blanco tequila with a similar clean agave taste.
3. Dos Hombres Espadin Mezcal
This quality Mezcal is owned by odd couple acting friends Brian Cranston and Aaron Paul (the legendary pair of meth cooking RV enthusiasts in Breaking Bad).
Dos Hombres is a smooth blend of the finest Espadin agave, hand-selected from the hillsides in Oaxaca. This is a reasonably priced mezcal with a premium quality flavor and is a great starting point for the tequila shot taker looking to change things up.
Vodka
Smooth vodka means different things to different types of vodka drinkers. For some, the smoothest flavor is determined by neutrality – the lack of overt taste and ethanol afterburn when you drink it neat or in a mixed drink.
There are others who like drinking cheap vodka and don’t mind some fire and heat but want something enjoyable, yet won’t keep them out of action the next day. And others still who enjoy filling up a massive piece of fruit with booze or crafting a potent jello shot or two to keep the party humming.
4. Elit
Stolichnaya’s Elit Vodka is an ultra-lavish vodka that screams luxury – from the elegant bottle design to the velvety mouthfeel and touch of sweetness on the palate.
The perfect vodka to drink straight from the freezer or in a premium Vodka Martini, you’ll be hard-pressed to experience a smoother (and more dangerous) drinking experience.
5. Purity Vodka
Purity Vodka uses the method of gently warming the ingredients until the vapor is collected and then refining the spirit meticulously until only the heart of the distillate is left to make it clear, clean, and with little aftertaste.
This unique approach to distillation makes Purity a hit for smooth vodka shots looking for easy heat without an ethanol afterburn, whether served in a shot glass or deployed in more exotic cocktailing.
6. Ketel One Botanical Cucumber and Mint
Dutch distillery Ketel One offers real ingredients and natural flavors with its range of botanical flavored vodka, which includes plain vodka, orange, grapefruit and rose, and peach and orange varieties. All of them are great for individualizing vodka shots.
This great flavored vodka expression utilizes sliced cucumber and mint botanicals blended and distilled through a copper pot still, then infused with the natural essence of fresh, crisp, and fragrant herbs.
Schnapps
While Schnapps is an essential ingredient in a variety of cocktails or enjoyed as a simple sipping digestif, it’s also a popular choice for those wanting to knock down a shot of something sweet with a lower alcohol content than actual hard liquor(Schnapps is usually around 46 proof or 23% ABV).
7. De Kuyper Butterscotch Schnapps
Again, I’d rather pour this gorgeously delicious Schnapps over some premium vanilla ice cream or drop an ounce or two into a cocktail shaker with Bailey’s Irish Cream and ice, but as far as Schnapps shot choices go, this is the one to enjoy.
De Kuyper Butterscotch Schnapps is so velvety smooth and easy on the palate, taking a shot of this alcoholic beverage is as simple as drinking from a water bottle. Throw a bit of whipped cream on top of your alcohol shots to liven up a party for guests, or enjoy a custom shot recipe as an adult dessert in a more relaxed setting.
8. Hiram Walker Peach Schnapps
It’s pretty simple. Peach Schnapps is so sweet and peachy you should be able to toss a shot glass of it down quickly, and with minimal personal damage or ethanol heat.
Hiram Walker’s peach Schnapps is viscous and sugary. Personally, I prefer this in a Fuzzy Navel or balancing out a hefty vodka mixed drink, but it’s useful for a range of situations.
Liqueurs
Liqueurs aren’t the first type of alcoholic drink that comes to mind when one thinks of shots. But if you can dream up all sorts of taste sensations to splash into a shot glass, freeze into a jello shot, or ruin an icy glass of Bailey’s Irish Cream, then this group of expressions will put the colors in your highball.
9. Jagermeister
As a 40+ dude with kids, I’m happy thoughts of Jagermeister are now confined to distant memories of dive bars, hostels, and public displays of (unflattering) nudity. Jager is a young person’s game. It’s one of the most popular shots to drop in a beer or mix with an energy drink.
Classed as a digestif, Jagermeister is made by combining 56 herbs and botanicals into an interesting spirit that seems designed to send young people mad.
10. Cointreau Triple Sec
The quintessential orange liqueur opens with strong orange zest and a complex floral aroma. Triple Sec is sweet on the palate with a powerful orange flavor that adds depth and citrusy notes to cocktails or makes an exceptionally smooth and enjoyable party shot.
11. Amaretto Liqueur
Amaretto means “a little bitter” in Italian. It’s a traditionally sweet liqueur that may be made from apricot kernels, bitter almonds, peach stones, or almonds, all of which provide the almond-like flavor of the liqueur.
Luxardo’s Amaretto is a premium take. The sweetness is toned down, making it a perfect ingredient for a serious cocktail but also a surprisingly enjoyable shot option.
12. Du Nord Cafe Freida Coffee Liqueur
Locally roasted coffee is combined with spicy chicory then sweetened to provide a balanced taste and smooth texture. Chocolate, coffee, spice, and fruit flavors mingle on the tongue to create a drinking experience above and beyond your ordinary cup of coffee.
Du Nord Cafe Freida Coffee Liqueur is an interesting counter-shot offering elements of your morning brew with the distinct warmth of a quality alcoholic beverage.
13. Tempus Fugit Creme De Menthe Blanche
Crème de menthe is a sweet, mint-flavored alcoholic beverage. It’s available commercially in a colorless version and a green version, and can often be classed in the same bundle as schnapps (it has an ABV in the mid-20s too).
Tempus Fugit Spirits Crème de Menthe is fully distilled from botanicals and is unique in its genre because it uses more than just mint in its flavor base. This one is colorless and has more complex flavors than some of its brighter counterparts.
Rum
Pirates and landlubbers alike enjoy shots of rum. They’re great for the bracing cold, galvanizing you when you need to get things moving, or for sweetening up a hot cup of coffee.
Sweet, spicy, and hot on the tongue, rum creates excitement and elements of flair and fun to social gatherings of all types.
14. J Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum
Our favorite white rum, Iconic Jamaican rum brand J Wray and Nephew is an overproof rum carrying extra wallop (at 63% ABV) and designed with your party in mind.
It’s responsible for 90% of domestic Jamaican rum sales and is the pre-eminent “strong” overproof white rum sold worldwide. It’s great for a shot, but know your limits or your evening won’t last long.
15. Rhum Barbancourt Reserve Speciale
The star of our 15 rums to try in 2020 list, Rhum Barbancourt Reserve Speciale (5 Star) is a product of Haiti aged 8 years to perfection in 100% French Limousin oak barrel.
Barbancourt is produced from pure sugar cane juice and double distilled in a manner similar to Cognac. Aficionados often rate it superior to AOC Rhum Agricole (from the Isle of Martinique) but at a much more affordable price.
This powerful, fine dark rum includes notes of fruit, vanilla, and pepper. It is perfect as a shot first, then chased more slowly with a highball of cola and fresh lime juice or cranberry juice rum punch.
