Best Amaretto Shots & Shooters: 8 Easy Almond-Liqueur Recipes

Amaretto is sweet, nutty, and almost dessert-like on its own, which makes it a soft landing in a shot glass. The almond liqueur smooths out sharper spirits like vodka and whiskey, so amaretto shooters tend to taste more like a treat than a dare. That’s the appeal, and also the trap.

Here are eight amaretto shots and shooters, from the famous ones to a couple of easy two-bottle pours, with three more further down.

8 amaretto shots & shooters

Alabama Slammer Shooter

Amaretto, vodka, Southern Comfort, and orange juice with a touch of grenadine. The shot version of the Southern classic, sweet with a real kick underneath. The tall original, and what to do when you can’t find sloe gin, is in the Alabama Slammer guide. See recipe

Screaming Orgasm

Coffee liqueur, Irish cream, amaretto, and vodka. Rich and creamy, like a boozy dessert in a glass. See recipe

Pro tip: Shake it hard with ice so it pours cold and a little frothy.

Almond Joy

Coconut rum, amaretto, creme de cacao, and a splash of half-and-half. Tastes exactly like the candy bar. See recipe

Blow Job

Just amaretto and Irish cream, layered. Two bottles, no technique — though if floating one spirit on another becomes your party trick, the layered shots guide has far fancier stacks. See recipe

Pro tip: Top it with whipped cream and take it no-hands for the full bar version.

Busted Nut

Amaretto, vodka, and a splash of Sprite. Light, fizzy, and easy. See recipe

Dr. Pepper #7

Amaretto, vodka, and cola. It really does taste like Dr Pepper, which is the whole joke. See recipe

Italian Kiss

White chocolate liqueur and amaretto. Smooth, sweet, and dangerously drinkable. See recipe

Toasted Almond

Coffee liqueur, amaretto, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. More of a blended sip than a slam, but too good to leave off — it moonlights on our dessert shots list too. See recipe

Three more amaretto shots

The first eight lean creamy. These are the drier ones.

Sicilian Kiss

Amaretto and Southern Comfort, half an ounce each, poured straight into a one-ounce shot glass. Peach on top of almond, no juice, no shaker. The recipe pitches it as a beer chaser. See recipe

Pro tip: An hour in the freezer for both bottles. The shot pours thick and cold with no ice to thin it.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Shot #2

Amaretto, butterscotch schnapps, and pineapple juice, a third of an ounce each, shaken over ice. The amaretto plays the cake, the butterscotch is the caramelized edge. Three bottles with no business getting along. See recipe

Pro tip: A few drops of grenadine in the glass first will sink and stand in for the cherry.

Godfather

Scotch and amaretto, an ounce and a half to three-quarters, over ice. Built as a slow drink, but the same two-to-one ratio poured short is the driest shot on this page. Bourbon works if there’s no scotch in the house. See recipe

Pro tip: Use a blended scotch, Dewar’s or Johnnie Walker Red. A smoky Islay malt fights the almond and wins.

If you’re missing a bottle

Most of these run three or four bottles deep. Swaps that hold up:

• No Southern Comfort (Alabama Slammer, Sicilian Kiss): peach schnapps with a splash of bourbon. SoCo is a peach liqueur with whiskey flavor, not a whiskey; the Southern Comfort mixing guide goes into it.
• No Irish cream (Screaming Orgasm, Blow Job): RumChata layers the same way and tastes of horchata instead. In a shaken shot, half-and-half plus a quarter ounce of Irish whiskey covers it.
• No coffee liqueur (Screaming Orgasm, Toasted Almond): Tia Maria, or equal parts cold brew and simple syrup, shaken harder because it’s thinner.
• No amaretto: Frangelico turns everything hazelnut, fine in the creamy shots and wrong in the citrus ones. Half an ounce of orgeat with half an ounce of vodka fakes the almond note when the store is closed.

Frequently asked questions

What is amaretto?

A sweet Italian liqueur with a marzipan-like almond flavor, usually around 21–28% ABV. The flavor often comes from apricot or peach pits rather than actual almonds.

What mixes well with amaretto?

Coffee liqueur, Irish cream, cola, citrus, coconut, and whiskey all work. Its sweetness pairs with almost anything, which is why it shows up in so many shots.

What’s the most famous amaretto shot?

The Alabama Slammer, which combines amaretto with Southern Comfort and citrus. The Screaming Orgasm is a close second.

Is amaretto strong?

It’s lower-proof than most spirits, but the sweetness hides the alcohol, so shooters built on amaretto sneak up on you faster than they taste like they will.

Can you drink amaretto as a straight shot?

Yes. At 21 to 28% ABV it’s gentle enough to shoot neat, and the Sicilian Kiss is barely more than that with a splash of Southern Comfort. An hour in the freezer first and it pours cold and syrupy.

Does amaretto contain nuts?

Not always. Disaronno, the best-known brand, is flavored with apricot kernel oil and contains no almonds. Other brands do use almonds, so check the label before pouring for anyone with a nut allergy.

For something this sweet, amaretto pulls a lot of weight, mellowing out vodka, whiskey, and coffee liqueur until the shot tastes more like dessert than a dare. When a shot glass feels too small, start with what to mix with amaretto — sours, coffee, cola — or browse more shots and shooters when you’re ready for the next one.

Last modified on September 3, 2026