Man's Take Magazine

The Irish Car Bomb: One Very Manly Drink Concoction

I have two words for you in introduction to this ubber-manly drink: KA – freakin – BOOM.

That’s the sound this little potion makes when it hits your stomach. It sounds rather bizarre, but really tastes like chocolate milk when you guzzle it down. Now, a drink that tastes like chocolate milk may sound somewhat less than manly. I’m sure you’ve got visions of the Nesquik rabbit and yellow sippy cups. Well get that baby stuff out of your head pansy ass because we’re talking about true Irish drinking here! You wouldn’t insult my heritage would you?

This is literally the best Ireland has to offer behind the bar, all combined into one drink. And if you can’t trust the Irish on what to drink, I don’t know who you can trust. Certainly not the French. Germans drink their beer warm. Need I say more?

The drink’s name, though slanted toward the side of terrorism, is still quite manly. I want to point out that those who live in Northern Ireland take great offense to the prevalence of this name in the United States, and well they should. Car bombs and terrorists really don’t deserve to be celebrated in drink, especially not a high quality drink like this one. But, nevertheless, it’s the name that’s stuck and I can’t really help that. Besides, can you think of a better name? I think not.

The drink is reminiscent of the depth charge (also known as a boilermaker) where one drops a shot glass of whiskey into a beer and then gulps it down. And in reality, it is somewhat similar. It does include whiskey and beer, along with Irish cream… but not just any whiskey or beer.

The way the drink is made is to first start pouring a Guinness. Draft is best, but we make do with what we’ve got. This is the one time you can’t actually fill the glass to the top. You want around 2/3 or 3/4 of a pint (or whatever size glass you’re using). I really hate getting a short beer at a bar, but in this case you need room for the “bomb” part to drop in without wasting any Guinness. Wasting alcohol isn’t against the law, but it is a sin in my religion. Thou shalt not waste thy alcohol.

The bomb part is a shot glass half filled with Baileys (or another Irish Cream if you prefer) and the other half Jameson Irish Whiskey. Once you and all your buddies have both parts of the drink prepared, you tap your glass to the bar (if possible), drop the shot glass into the beer, and toss the whole thing back in ceremonial, almost competitive, fashion.

It’s important to note that if you take your sweet time petunia, you’ll ruin the damn drink. As unappetizing as it sounds, the Irish cream curdles if it sits in the beer for more than a few seconds. So drink the thing down as you were instructed, private!

You will note the chocolate milk taste and you will also note that it’s considerably more manly than Ovaltine or anything that Nesquik rabbit delivers. It’s far lower in sugar as well!

When you order your Irish Car Bomb in a bar, you can expect to pay a premium for it, as it should be almost the equivalent of two drinks: a top-shelf shooter plus most of an imported beer. Unfortunately some places really short you on the beer, but either way it’s never going to be a bargain drink. But for the well-initiated, it’s worth the price.

Chug-Chug-Chug… KABOOM!

If you plan to whip up a batch at home or bring them to a party, they’re sure to be well received, unless the party is in Ireland where you will assuredly get your ass kicked. The drink is served more like a shooter and so it makes a good group drink.

Here are a couple of tips for serving this at home. First, I suggest you use Guinness Draught instead of Guinness Extra Stout. Either one will do in a pinch though. Second, buy plastic mouthwash cups to use as shotglasses.

If you or one of your buddies drops a full shotglass made out of glass into a pint glass filled with carbonated beer, there’s a chance of one of the glasses breaking, cracking, chipping or even exploding. You have to slide the shot glass in quickly but carefully. To avoid all that, just use plastic ones. This way you avoid cleaning up as much spilled beer and you won’t look like an idiot should the shotglass slide down and smack into your teeth as you’re chugging. Alternately you can use a glass shotglass and a plastic cup for the beer. This way the shot sinks below the line of the beer without you having to push it down with your finger. There is something a little less manly drinking your beer out of a plastic cup though…

Just beware– anything that tastes like chocolate and is powered by Irish whiskey can cause odd things to happen around you. I once went out with a guy who repeatedly insisted on doing MORE Irish Car Bombs, after which he decided that he could single-handedly kick over a three foot diameter tree. Yeah. Despite his considerable karate skills he didn’t even chip the bark. I’m pretty sure most SUVs couldn’t have knocked that tree down with a quarter mile lead in, but a few Irish Car Bombs convinced him that his foot could do it. It’s not exactly the Luck of the Irish, but it certainly is powerful in its own right.

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1. Truly Manly Drink – Black Russian
2. Manliest Mixed Drinks of All Time
3. Long Island Iced Tea – Monthly Manly Drink
4. Kamikaze Shooter – Featured Manly Drink
5. Down the Hatch: The B-52 Ultimate Shooter Drink

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