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 the name came from
Late 1990s. American college bars. The same wave that gave us the Buttery Nipple, the Slippery Nipple, and the Redheaded Slut. Nobody can pinpoint the exact bartender who first stuck the name to the recipe and frankly nobody is in a hurry to claim it. By the early 2000s the shot had crept into Mr. Boston's bartender's handbook, and from there it got into every dive bar on the planet.
What's kept it on menus for twenty-five years is the shape of the drink. Two ingredients. Thirty seconds. A name that gets a reaction at every table, whether the reaction is a laugh or a polite glare. It survived the craft cocktail movement, the wellness backlash, and several rounds of "shots are dead" predictions. People still order it. Bartenders still pour it.
The "Buttery Nipple" is the family-friendly version of the same recipe, served on corporate menus where the original name is a problem. Same drink, different jacket.
What it tastes like
It hits like a liquid Werthers Original with a chocolate finish. The butterscotch schnapps does the talking: burnt sugar, brown butter, vanilla, the slightly artificial caramel note you get from movie-theatre popcorn. The Bailey's adds Irish whiskey warmth, vanilla, and the silky weight of cream that coats the inside of the glass.
It's a dessert shot, not a working drink. Sweet up front, soft on the alcohol burn, longer finish than most shots because the cream lingers. People who don't normally drink shots will drink this one. People who do drink shots usually have three.
The technique that matters
Layering. The Bailey's floats because it's less dense than butterscotch schnapps. Pour the schnapps first, then pour the Bailey's slowly over the back of an inverted bar spoon held just above the surface. The cream slides off the spoon and pools on top. Most failed layerings come from pouring too fast or holding the spoon too high. Slow and close.
Temperature. Both bottles must be cold. Bailey's at room temperature is more likely to curdle when it touches anything else, and warm schnapps loses the syrup body that lets the cream sit on top. Twenty minutes in the freezer is the move. Neither bottle will freeze solid (both are over 30% sugar), but they'll get cold enough to make the layering reliable.
Ratio. Equal parts is the standard. Some bartenders skew slightly heavier on the Bailey's for the visual contrast, some skew heavier on the butterscotch because that's the dominant flavour. The 1:1 ratio in the recipe above is what most published guides use, and it tastes balanced.
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Drink Lab Notes
The most common mistake we see: pouring the Bailey's into the schnapps instead of onto it. The shot still tastes the same but it looks like a brown-sludge milkshake instead of a layered shot. Half the appeal is the visual. If your layering keeps failing, slow the pour by half and lower the spoon closer to the surface.
Our preferred version uses Buttershots for the schnapps (cleaner butterscotch flavour than DeKuyper's house version) and any Irish cream the bottle shop has on offer. The differences between Bailey's, Carolans, and Five Farms are smaller than the marketing budgets suggest. Save the cash on cream and spend it on better schnapps.
The honest read on when to serve this: not as the first drink of a serious cocktail night. It's too sweet to lead with. Make it the third or fourth round, after people have already had a real drink, and the dessert quality lands. Order one as your opener at a craft cocktail bar and the bartender will judge you. Fairly.
Ingredient Spotlight
The two bottles that make or break this shot. Click through to the full ingredient pages for everything else they go in.
Butterscotch Schnapps
- What it is
- A liqueur flavoured with butterscotch (caramelised sugar and butter), typically 15-20% ABV. The category took off when Buttershots launched in the early 1990s. Full ingredient page: Butterscotch Schnapps.
- Why we use it here
- It's the structural base of the shot. Its density holds the Bailey's up, its sugar content rounds out the cream, and its butterscotch flavour does most of the talking.
- Drink Lab pick
- Buttershots. Cleaner butterscotch character, less artificial than competitors.
- Substitute
- Caramel liqueur (Salted Caramel Baileys, Caravella Caramel) gives a softer flavour. Goldschläger does NOT work, too cinnamon-forward.
Bailey's Irish Cream
- What it is
- An Irish whiskey-based cream liqueur, 17% ABV, made from Irish dairy cream blended with Irish whiskey, cocoa, and vanilla. Launched in 1974 and created the entire cream-liqueur category. Full ingredient page: Irish Cream.
- Why we use it here
- The cream gives the shot weight, the whiskey adds a finish that stops the schnapps from being cloying, and the chocolate notes pair perfectly with butterscotch.
- Drink Lab pick
- Bailey's Original. The standard, the benchmark, available everywhere.
- Substitute
- Carolans, Five Farms, Kerrygold Irish Cream, or any store-brand Irish cream. Skip non-dairy creamers, they kill the layering and the flavour.
Variations
Three real cousins of the Cocksucking Cowboy. Same family of layered cream shots, all live recipes on the site.
What if I don't have…
Quick substitutions for when the bottle shop is closed.
Use caramel liqueur (Salted Caramel Baileys, Caravella Caramel) for a softer flavour. Or 15ml of butterscotch syrup mixed with 5ml vodka to fake the alcohol content. Both are noticeably different but drinkable.
Heavy cream with a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a teaspoon of brown sugar. Not the same drink but it layers correctly. Avoid coconut cream (curdles with schnapps over time) 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 the things people search for after Googling this drink.
What is in a Cocksucking Cowboy Shot?
How do you layer a Cocksucking Cowboy Shot?
Why does Bailey's curdle in cocktails?
Where did the Cocksucking Cowboy Shot get its name?
Is the Cocksucking Cowboy Shot strong?
What does a Cocksucking Cowboy Shot taste like?
Can you make a Cocksucking Cowboy Shot without Bailey's?
How many calories are in a Cocksucking Cowboy Shot?
What glass do you serve a Cocksucking Cowboy Shot in?
What's the difference between a Cocksucking Cowboy and a Buttery Nipple?
More Like This
Other layered shots and creamy crowd-pleasers. All live recipes on the site.
