Shooters

A shooter is defined by the serve rather than by the ingredients. It is a small drink, mixed or layered in advance and poured into a tot glass instead of being built to order. Most are sweet, and most sit well below the strength of a neat spirit, because liqueurs and cream make up the bulk of them.

Sweetness and cold both flatten the taste of alcohol, so a shooter tells you very little about its own strength. Measure with a jigger rather than a free pour, and keep to a standard 25 ml tot.

Layers hold because of density, and density follows sugar. The sweetest liquid is the heaviest, so syrups and cream liqueurs go in first and the lightest, most spirituous layer goes on top. Pour each one slowly over the back of a bar spoon held against the inside of the glass, so it settles rather than mixes. Chilled liquids separate more cleanly than warm ones. Tilt the glass slightly as you pour. A narrow glass is far easier to work with than a wide one, and a steady hand counts for more than the recipe does.

Almost always. Cold tightens the texture, helps the layers stay apart and takes the edge off sweetness, and anything containing dairy cream holds its flavour better cold, though the fridge is not strictly required.

A straight-sided tot glass is the standard, and the narrower it is the easier layering becomes. A small sherry or liqueur glass does the same job, and nothing stops you sipping from it rather than taking it in one.