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Wanna know how to make an Alabama Slammer? Great! You’re in the right place!
You make an Alabama Slammer by combing Southern Comfort, Amaretto, Sloe Gin and Orange Juice to a Highball glass.
Let’s take a look at the cocktail in a little more detail.
In this article we’re going to cover:
- How to make an Alabama Slammer.
- What you need to make an Alabama Slammer.
- How many calories there are in an Alabama Slammer.
- The history of the Alabama Slammer.
- A downloadable how to make an Alabama Slammer infographic.
Let’s dive right into the recipe.
How to Make an Alabama Slammer
Alabama Slammer
Tweet this Recipe
Share on FacebookIngredients
- 30ml / 1oz Southern Comfort
- 30ml / 1oz Amaretto
- 30ml / 1oz Sloe Gin
- 50ml / 2oz Orange Juice
Recipe
With Cocktail Shaker:
- Add Ice, Southern Comfort, Amaretto, Sloe Gin, and Orange Juice to your Cocktail Shaker.
- Shake well.
- Pour into a Highball Glass.
Without:
- Add ice Southern Comfort, Amaretto, Sloe Gin, and Orange Juice to a Highball Glass.
- Stir well.
What You Need to Make an Alabama Slammer
Now that you know how to make an Alabama Slammer, here are some of our specialised recommendations.
In this list, we recommend the best ingredients and equipment you’ll need to make this classic cocktail at the best prices available.
Southern Comfort
For Southern Comfort, we recommend:
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If you click this link and make a purchase, we earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
What is Southern Comfort?
Southern Comfort is an American Bourbon-based Liqueur.
It was created in 1874 when a man called Martin Wilkes Heron blended honey, citrus, and a variety of spices with Bourbon.
Amaretto
For Amaretto, we recommend:
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If you click this link and make a purchase, we earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
What is Amaretto?
Amaretto is a sweet liqueur, originating from the Saronno region of Italy.
Depending on the brand of Amaretto, the almond-like flavour is derived from apricot kernals, bitter almonds, peach stones, or just regular almonds. All of these are natural sources of the benzaldehyde that provides the almond-like flavour.
Amaretto is ususally between 21 and 28 percent alcohol by volume.
Sloe Gin
For Sloe Gin, we recommend:
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What is Sloe Gin?
We go into more detail in our What is Sloe Gin? article, but essentially Sloe Gin in liqueur made from Gin and Sloe.
Sloe’s are a fruit similar to the plum that do not taste great on their own, but do taste great blended with booze.
Sloe Gin is native to Britain, but distillery’s in the United States substitute Sloe’s with Aronia Berries or Beach Plum’s.
A Cocktail Shaker
For A Cocktail Shaker, we recommend:
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If you click this link and make a purchase, we earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Why do we recommend this cocktail shaker? Because we believe it’s the best on the market right now and have written a comparison post to share our findings.
How Many Calories Are in an Alabama Slammer?
So…how will this delicious cocktail affect your waistline? Here are the stats:
What does the Alabama Slammer Taste like?
On paper, this cocktail shouldn’t work.
We have 4 very different flavours at work here:
- A bourbon-based fruit and spiced liqueur (Southern Comfort).
- A tart berry-based Gin (Sloe Gin).
- A nutty, almond liqueur (Amaretto).
- Orange Juice (…well, the orange juice).
And we’re mixing them together…how does someone come up with that?
It doesn’t matter how, but we’re thankful that they did because this cocktail is fantastic.
With the Alabama Slammer, you first get the citrusy notes from the orange juice, followed by the luxurious almond flavour of the Amaretto that’s closely accompanied the fruity fire of the Sloe Gin and Southern Comfort.
Delicious!
How to Enjoy the Alabama Slammer
You can enjoy an Alabama Slammer pretty much any time of the year.
It’s great on a hot day with a BBQ blazing in the background, but the Amaretto undertones also make it a great Christmas drink.
Well, for me it does anyway. Amaretto = Christmas in my house. Amaretto and coke all around when wrapping presents.
History of the Alabama Slammer
Humble Origins
This won’t surprise you, but the Alabama Slammer was invented in Alabama. That’s a coincidence, isn’t it? What’re the odds…
Joking.
The name for the drink was first thought to have been coined by someone at the University of Alabama in the late 60s or early 70s. Details are vague, but we do know this: back then it began as a slightly different drink.
Despite the ingredients being similiar, it wasn’t a cocktail – it was a shot. Hence the Slammer bit of its name.
Here’s a recipe for that shot.
Alabama Slammer Shot Recipe
Ingredients
- Southern Comfort 15ml / 0.5oz.
- Amaretto 15ml / 0.5oz.
- Sloe Gin 15ml / 0.5oz.
- Orange Juice 7.5ml / 0.3oz.
- Lemon Juice 7.5ml / 0.3oz.
- a slice of orange
Recipe
With a Cocktail Shaker:- Add Ice, Southern Comfort, Amaretto, Sloe Gin, Orange Juice, and Lemon Juice to your cocktail shaker.
- Shake well.
- Strain into a Collins Glass.
- Garnish with a slice of orange.
- Add Ice, Southern Comfort, Amaretto, Sloe Gin, Orange Juice, and Lemon Juice to a Collins Glass.
- Garnish with a slice of orange.
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Email to a FriendBecoming a Cocktail
The first mention of the Alabama Slammer become a long drink was in the 1971 edition of the Playboy Bartender’s Guide which listed the following ingredients:
- 1oz Southern Comfort.
- .5oz Sloe Gin.
- 1oz Amaretto.
- .5oz Lemon Juice.
This was served in a Highball Glass over ice.
Lemon Juice?
At the beginning of the cocktails life, the acidity of lemon juice was favoured in the cocktail. However, throughout the 70s the user of lemon juice faded.
Instead, orange juice was used.
Why? Well, throughout the 70s the use of orange juice in long drinks was very popular (particularly Sloe Comfortable Screw and The Harvey Wallbanger) and the Alabama Slammer followed the trend.
The switch was also a matter of convenience: orange juice was easily available – you could get cartons of the stuff without having to squeeze it for yourself.
Popularity
The popularity of the Alabama Slammer grew among college goers (and not just those attending the University of Alabama) throughout the 80s.
However, in 1988 Tom Cruise took the popularity of the cocktail to another level.
Tom Cruise? WHAT? Well in 1988 Tom Cruise starred in the movie Cocktail and in that movie he mentioned the cocktail in his epic “world’s last barman poet” speech.
The popularity of the cocktail stuck and was picked up by the restaurant chain TGI Friday’s. They added it to their menu as a pitcher and the cocktail has maintained its popularity ever since.
How to Make an Alabama Slammer Recipe Infographic
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