All photos courtesy Comme Ca
Shots have a funny way of attracting the lowest common denominator. Even as we evolve as sophisticated drinkers, exploring Belgian beers and telling everyone our favorite cocktail is a Negroni, shots always pull us back toward the bottom shelf. Jack. Cuervo. Maybe Fernet if we’re trying to impress a mustachioed bartender.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Multi-ingredient shooters have a rich, if slightly ignominious, history in the bar world, rising to popularity in an era when—as drinks writer David Wondrich puts it—”drugs made cocktails seem kind of tame.” But some bars are resurrecting and remixing shooter heritage, nixing technicolor Kamikazes in favor of upgraded Jell-O shots and other down-in-one creations.
One of those places is Comme Ça in the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, where the cocktail program is matched by a selection of bespoke “party primers.”
“Some people prefer a Champagne toast, but we want to provide a liquor option as well,” explains Comme Ça chef Brian Howard. “A shooter is a much more convenient way to take a drink as a group than attempting to find the spirit everyone can agree on.”
We’d agree that shots are a much more Vegas to turn up, but Howard also sees them as a gateway to the restaurant’s booze program: “A shooter is a small glimpse into what the bar is capable of when it comes to providing an alcoholic adventure for our guests.”
All this talk of creative shots got us thinking: What if we made some shooters inspired by our favorite obscure rap lyrics? To help us out, we tapped the pros at Comme Ça and gave them a slew of names—including the French Montana-inspired Fanute the Coupe—and asked them to create original shooters from the ones that inspired them the most.
Here are the five hip-hop shooters they came up with—follow the recipes to make them for your next party.
Puerto Rican Judo
By Kushal Poudel, bartender
The lyric: “Yo, I love when cats think they bigger than a sumo / That’s when I hit ’em with a little Puerto Rican judo / Oh, you don’t know what that is? / That’s when I say, ‘ju don’t know who gat this is?'” – Cam’ron, “Horse & Carriage”
The drink: “Bacardi is from Puerto Rico and yuzu is a traditional citrus from Japan, which pulls in the art of Judo. The light and crisp flavors makes this the ‘gentle way’ (translation for the word Judo) to approach a shooter. It’s light and refreshing, and what Judo fighter wouldn’t want something to refresh him before facing their opponent?”
1oz Bacardi
.5oz yuzu
.5oz simple syrup
.5oz Peche de Ortique
finished with two drops Peychaud’s bitters
Real G’s Move in Silence
By Ryan Thomas, bartender
The lyric: “Paper chasin’, tell that paper, ‘Look, I’m right behind ya’ / Bitch, real G’s move in silence like lasagna” – Lil Wayne, “6 Foot 7 Foot”
The drink: “I immediately thought about the silent G and wanted to use a spirit that had one as well, so I went with Cognac. In this case, the Real G’s move in silence like Cognac!”
.75oz D’usse Cognac
.75oz Cointreau
.75oz Disaronno
.75oz heavy cream
.75oz honey simple syrup
.5oz orange juice
Half Man, Half Mammal
By Charles Contreras, bartender
The lyrics: “Now these ni**as is mad, oh, they call me a camel / But I mastered the drought, what the fuck I’m an animal / Half man half mammal, my sign is a Sagg / This is just what I planned to do, oh, don’t be mad” – Jay Z, “Already Home”
The drink: “I am a Sagittarius myself so I know about half man, half mammal. Jameson represents the half man and the Jäger is the half mammal. Normally never seen together, but when combined they can make something magical—like the centaur.”
1oz Jameson
1oz Jäger
.75oz Lemon juice
.75oz Orange juice
.75oz Velvet Falernum
.5oz honey
The F is for Phenomenal
By Bryan Tamayo, bartender
The lyric: “Yes I do it big, call me little astronomical / Weezy F baby and the F is for phenomenal” – Lil Wayne, “Yes”
The drink: “Lil Wayne is always changing what the F in Weezy F Baby stands for. He’s been known to say: Fresh, Fly, Franchise, Fashion, Ferocious, etc. As a bartender, I like to imagine the F is for Fernet!”
.5oz Fernet Branca
.5oz Rye
.25oz lemon juice
.25oz pomegranate grenadine
.5oz Pineapple vanilla syrup
1 dash peach bitters
Schmurda She Wrote
By Kushal Poudel
Inspiration: A reference to Bobby Schmurda, New York City’s king of summer
The drink: “I imagine a drunken, slurring wife gets angry and decides to murder her husband, so we planned a murder scene—Cherry Heering for the blood and mezcal’s smokiness for the smell of a pistol being fired.”
.5oz Mezcal
.5oz Cherry Heering
.5oz Cointreau
.5oz honey simple syrup
.5oz lime juice