Average
Citrusy & Sweet
3 minutes
Highball Glass
Ingredients
The Alabama Slammer is a fruity, punch-style cocktail that blends rye whiskey, sloe gin, amaretto and orange juice – four very different ingredients thrown together and somehow nailing it.
Born in the 1960s and still going strong, the Alabama Slammer has been a staple of college bars and football tailgate parties across the United States ever since. Like the Yellowhammer, it’s a drink deeply rooted in the culture of the American South – built directly in a highball glass over ice and garnished with an orange wedge and a cherry.
Bold, fruity and complex, the Alabama Slammer is a classic that never really went away.
How to Make an ALABAMA SLAMMER
Bar tools you’ll need
Jigger
Knife
Boston Shaker
Hawthorne Strainer
Citrus Press
How to Mix
-
Cut orange(s) in half then use a citrus elbow or citrus press to extract orange juice. Keep an orange wedge aside to garnish your drink.
-
Use a jigger (or other measuring instrument) to measure and pour the orange juice into the smaller tin of a Boston shaker.
-
Measure and add amaretto, sloe gin and rye whiskey.
-
Add ice cubes.
-
Connect the two tins together to seal the shaker then shake vigorously until the shaker is frosty on the outside.
-
Fill a highball glass with ice cubes.
-
Separate the shaker tins, place a Hawthorne strainer over the shaker and pour the cocktail into the glass.
-
Garnish with the orange wedge you set aside earlier together with a fresh cherry.
All about the Alabama Slammer
The Alabama Slammer is a complex, fruity cocktail that blends three spirit types together with fresh orange juice, served in a highball glass.
Sweet and fruity. The whiskey gives the drink its bold, rich backbone, while the sloe gin adds a unique, tart berry flavor. Amaretto contributes a marzipan-like flavor and rich sweetness, all tied together with orange juice, offering a bright, sweet citrus note.
The Alabama Slammer is thought to have originated at the University of Alabama in the late 1960s or early ’70s, quickly becoming a tailgate party staple.
Initially served as a shot in a shot glass, it later became a long drink, enjoyed in a highball glass. Interestingly, its first print mention was believed to be in a magazine in 1971 as the highball version we know today.
The drink’s popularity soared in the 1980s, thanks to a fictional film celebrating bartenders and cocktail culture.
- The perfect amount of sweetness
Many people say the Alabama Slammer can be extremely sweet and we agree. To balance out the sweetness of the drink, reduce the amount of orange juice and add lemon juice instead. See below. - Use fresh orange juice
Rule of thumb – whenever you’re making a drink, always make your own fruit juice. Yes, we know – store bought stuff is more convenient, but if you want your drinks to taste as good as the ones when you’re out (or better!), you’ve got to make your own juice. So, grab some oranges and a citrus press and get squeezing!
In true Southern fashion, the Alabama Slammer has more twists and turns than the winding rivers of Alabama. Here are just few of our favorites:
- Alabama Slammer No. 2
The Alabama Slammer No. 2 mixes peach-flavored bourbon, amaretto, orange juice, and lemon juice to create a truly unique twist on the original. Peach flavored bourbon and amaretto? It works really, really well – sweet, tangy and fruity. It’s delicious! Check out the drink recipe. - Add lemon juice and reduce the orange juice
To add another citrus dimension to your Alabama Slammer, reduce the amount of orange juice by a quarter and replace that with fresh lemon juice. It’ll give your drink a nice sour edge to balance out the sweetness of orange. - Add vodka and remove sloe gin
Here’s a popular twist on the classic Alabama Slammer; follow the recipe on this page, mixing equal parts of each spirit, but use vodka instead of sloe gin. Since sloe gin is omitted, add a splash of grenadine to bring in that essential sweet and tangy flavor. - Use a southern whiskey
In our drink recipe we opt for a rye whiskey. However, to accentuate the southern spirit of this drink, use a southern-style whiskey or bourbon. - Add grenadine syrup
It’s not uncommon to find bars adding 15 ml (0.5 part) of grenadine syrup to their Alabama Slammer recipe. Grenadine adds additional sweetness as well as tanginess that accentuates the drink’s punch-like fruitiness. However, the risk is that, combined with the amaretto and orange juice, the drink becomes too sweet. But hey, we all have our own preferences, so try it and find out!
- A highball glass or Collins glass is perfect for an Alabama Slammer, giving you plenty of room for ice cubes and the right amount of orange juice.
- We recommend topping off your drink with an orange wedge and a fresh cherry.
- Another popular garnish for an Alabama Slammer is a peach wedge perched on the side of the glass.
Alabama Slammer FAQ
Historically, the Alabama Slammer was served as a shot, where people would “slam” the cocktail…hence the name “slammer” part of the drink name. Today, it’s served as a long drink that’s sipped and savored in a highball glass.
You can replace it with grenadine (pomegranate syrup) which will give your drink that sweet fruitiness found in sloe gin.
Gin is a distilled spirit infused with juniper berries, and its flavor can vary widely based on the botanicals used, such as citrus peels, spices, and herbs. This results in profiles that can be bright and zesty or earthy and spicy.
In contrast, sloe gin is a sweet, fruity liqueur created by infusing gin with sloe berries, which have a tart taste reminiscent of plums or cherries.
No, we wouldn’t recommend it. Sloe gin is a sweet and fruity liqueur with a taste more like grenadine whereas gin is a distilled spirit with a juniper-forward flavor. So, no, you shouldn’t use gin to make an Alabama Slammer.
