Equipment
- Shot Glass
Ingredients
- 3/4 oz Butterscotch Schnapps
- 1/4 oz Irish Cream
Instructions
Pour Butterscotch Schnapps:
- Pour 3/4 oz of butterscotch schnapps into a shot glass.
Add Irish Cream:
- Carefully add 1/4 oz of Irish cream, letting it float on top of the schnapps.
Serve:
- Serve immediately and enjoy the sweet, smooth flavors.
Video
Notes
Estimated Nutrition:
Where it came from
Late 1990s American college bars, same wave that produced the Buttery Nipple, the Slippery Nipple, and the Redheaded Slut. No bartender claims authorship and you can see why. By the early 2000s the recipe was in published bartending guides, and the shot has been a fixture in pub menus on both sides of the Pacific ever since.
The Buttery Nipple is the same drink with a corporate-friendly name. Same ingredients, same proportions, same float. The cruder version stayed on dive-bar menus where the name is the whole point.
What it tastes like
Butterscotch caramel candy with a creamy chocolate finish. The schnapps brings burnt-sugar sweetness, the Bailey’s adds vanilla and Irish whiskey, and together they hit like a liquid Werther’s Original.
Sweet, dessert-like, easy to drink. The cream rounds off any rough edges, which is why this one tends to disappear faster than a vodka shot of the same volume.
The technique
Both bottles in the freezer for twenty minutes before pouring. Cold liqueurs are denser, layer cleaner, and don’t curdle. That’s the entire trick.
Pour the butterscotch schnapps first, fill to the halfway mark of the shot glass. Then float the Bailey’s slowly over the back of an inverted bar spoon held just above the surface. Slow pour, gentle angle. The Bailey’s is less dense than the schnapps so it sits on top in a clean layer if you give it a chance.
Drink Buddy Exclusive
Tell us what’s in your cabinet.
Our Cocktail Builder takes whatever bottles you’ve got and hands you every drink you can actually make tonight.
Open the Builder →Get the Drink Buddy newsletter
One drink, one tip, one Tuesday a month.
Plus the recipes we drop before they hit the site. Zero spam.
Ingredient Spotlight
The bottle that does the talking.
Butterscotch Schnapps
- Use
- Buttershots (the cleaner pour, our pick) or DeKuyper Buttershots
- Skip
- Anything labelled salted caramel (softer, less burnt-sugar profile)
- Why
- Butterscotch schnapps is the structural base. Its density holds the Bailey’s up, its sugar rounds out the cream, and its burnt-caramel flavour does the heavy lifting.
Irish Cream
- Use
- Bailey’s Original Irish Cream
- Try
- Carolans, Five Farms, Kerrygold, or any store-brand Irish cream
- Why
- The vanilla and whiskey notes in Bailey’s marry to the butterscotch better than a flavoured Irish cream would. Coffee or salted caramel Bailey’s work too if you want a twist.
Three Variations
Three real ways bartenders riff on this drink. Same idea, three different jackets.
Cleaner Name
- The Buttery Nipple
- Same recipe, family-friendly name. Order this one when the menu can’t print the original.
Three-Layer Cousin
- B-52 Style
- Add a Grand Marnier float on top and a Kahlua bottom. Three layers instead of two, dressed up for a long weekend.
Glass-Up Version
- Cowboy Mudslide
- Same ratio of butterscotch and Bailey’s, scaled up to a rocks glass over crushed ice with a splash of milk. Drinks like a milkshake.
What if I don’t have…
Quick substitutions for when the bottle shop is closed.
Caramel liqueur (Salted Caramel Baileys, Caravella Caramel) gives a softer flavour. Or 15ml of butterscotch syrup with 5ml vodka to fake the alcohol content. Both are noticeably different but drinkable.
Carolans, Five Farms, Kerrygold, or any store-brand Irish cream. Avoid coconut cream (curdles with the schnapps) and non-dairy creamer (kills the flavour entirely).
Back of a regular teaspoon held just above the surface of the schnapps. The trick is the angle and the slow pour, not the tool.
A small wine glass or a 30ml measuring cup will do. Avoid anything wider than 4cm at the rim, the layering disappears in a wide vessel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers to what people search for after Googling this drink.
What is in a Cocksucking Cowboy Shot?
15ml butterscotch schnapps on the bottom and 15ml Bailey’s Irish Cream floated on top. Served chilled in a shot glass and slammed in one. Total volume 30ml at roughly 17 percent ABV.
How do you layer a Cocksucking Cowboy Shot?
Pour the butterscotch schnapps in first, then pour the Bailey’s slowly over the back of an inverted bar spoon held just above the surface. The Bailey’s is less dense than the schnapps so it floats naturally if you pour slow enough.
Why does Bailey’s curdle in cocktails?
Bailey’s curdles when it touches anything acidic, like citrus juice or anything with a pH below about 5. Butterscotch schnapps has no acid in it, which is why this shot works. Avoid mixing Bailey’s with lime, lemon, grapefruit, or sour mix.
Where did the Cocksucking Cowboy Shot get its name?
American college-bar culture in the late 1990s. The exact origin is disputed but the recipe appeared in published bartending guides by the early 2000s and has been a fixture on party-bar menus ever since.
Is the Cocksucking Cowboy Shot strong?
No, it is one of the lighter shots. Total ABV is around 17 percent because both ingredients are liqueurs in the 15 to 20 percent range, and the cream content of the Bailey’s softens the burn. Nothing like the kick of a vodka or tequila shot.
What does a Cocksucking Cowboy Shot taste like?
Butterscotch caramel candy with a creamy chocolate finish. The schnapps brings burnt-sugar sweetness, the Bailey’s adds vanilla and Irish whiskey, and together they hit like a liquid Werther’s Original. Sweet, dessert-like, easy to drink.
Can you make a Cocksucking Cowboy Shot without Bailey’s?
Yes. Substitute any Irish cream liqueur (Carolans, Kerrygold, Five Farms, store brand) and the result is nearly identical. Avoid coconut cream or non-dairy creamers, which break the layering and dull the flavour.
How many calories are in a Cocksucking Cowboy Shot?
Around 95 calories per shot, made up of 15ml butterscotch schnapps (about 50 cal) and 15ml Bailey’s (about 45 cal). It is a sweet shot, not a low-calorie one.
What glass do you serve a Cocksucking Cowboy Shot in?
A standard 30ml or 1oz shot glass. A taller, narrower shot glass shows off the layering best, but any shot glass works.
What is the difference between a Cocksucking Cowboy and a Buttery Nipple?
Same two ingredients, same proportions, layered the same way. The Buttery Nipple is the family-friendly name for what is essentially the same drink. Some bartenders use slightly more Bailey’s in the Buttery Nipple, but the recipes are functionally identical.
More Like This
More dessert-shot cousins from the same family.
