Butterball Shot Recipe for Sweet Shooters

This butterball shot is no turkey. It's a smooth, sweet shot that goes down easy and leaves you wanting more.

Updated February 4, 2024
Butterball Shot

Close your eyes and picture a sweet, creamy shot of such deliciousness that it almost brings a tear to your eye. That's the sweetness of the butterball shot, two ounces of pure, creamy, butterscotchy goodness. And it only has two ingredients!

How to Make a Butterball Shot

The trick to a tasty two-ingredient cocktail or shot is to make sure the two ingredients are both super yummy and taste great together. Which is why this sweet shot is so perfect. 

Ingredients

  • 1 ounce butterscotch liqueur
  • ½ ounce Irish cream

Instructions

  1. In a shot glass, add butterscotch liqueur.
  2. Layer Irish cream by carefully and slowly pouring down the back of a bar spoon.

Variations of the Butterball Shot

The butterball shot has a standard set of ingredients, but feel free to mix it up and try your own thing.

  • Don't layer the ingredients; instead, toss both into a cocktail shaker and shake it up with ice before straining them into a shot glass.
  • Use equal parts butterscotch and Irish cream liqueur, or play around with different ratios. Remember that too little butterscotch liqueur will result in the Irish cream sinking.
  • For a slippery butterball shot, use sambuca instead of butterscotch liqueur.
  • Mix equal parts of almond liqueur with the butterscotch liqueur before adding them to the shot glass.

Sweet, Buttery Garnishes

The butterball shot is more about the taste than how pretty it looks in an Insta photo, so it doesn't use a garnish, which is fairly common with shots. If you want to pretty it up so you can still have a Kodak moment, rub the rim of the glass with a lemon wedge and dip the rim into sugar for a sweeter, prettier shot. Or, if you're into caramel, you can dip the rim in caramel syrup or melted butterscotch candies to play up the caramel and butterscotch notes.

Need to Know

The butterball shot is a familiar shot with a new name for a new millennium. Long known as the buttery nipple, the butterball saw a rebranding and renaming in recent years. 

A Shot That's Easy to Take

Not all shots need to make you cringe or immediately chug a chaser to erase the memory and taste of what you just went through. The butterball shot is the answer when you're looking for a shot that goes down easy and doesn't cause you instant regret. It's a standout choice when you're taking your next shot. And if you love this shot, there are plenty of cocktails made with butterscotch schnapps you should try.

Butterball Shot Recipe for Sweet Shooters