If you’ve been avoiding shots since your rowdy college days, you’re not alone. Most of us associate the word with little glasses of straight liquor, to be downed as quickly as possible so as to avoid tasting it. But even if traditional tequila shots make you cringe, that doesn’t mean you can never shoot a drink on a night out. There’s actually a wide world of mixed shots to enjoy, and one of the most popular sounds downright soothing: the green tea shot.
Unfortunately for those of us who enjoy a fragrant mug of green tea or an earthy cup of matcha, green tea shots don’t contain any actual tea, so they won’t give you a caffeine or antioxidant boost. Instead, green tea shots are made with a mixture of Irish whisky, peach schnapps, sweet-and-sour mix, and lemon-lime soda. While this combination may not have the health benefits of green tea, it does result in a drink with a remarkably similar color, plus a fruity effervescence. Green tea shots are a popular choice for drinkers looking for a shooter that goes down easy and as a themed party drink, especially for a St. Patrick’s Day alternative to green beer.
How the green tea shot got its name
If green tea shots don’t actually contain any tea at all, then why are they called that? The answer is simple — they were named after the striking resemblance between the light yellow-green shot and a cup of freshly brewed green tea. The citrusy, peach-infused flavor of the shots is also reminiscent of sweetened, fruit-flavored green tea itself, though it’s unclear if this was intentional. But who was the first to invent this alcoholic mixture and recognize its similarities to green tea?
The origins of the shot are somewhat murky, but one common theory is that the recipe was invented by the Irish whisky brand Jameson as a marketing strategy. This theory mostly hinges on the fact that Jameson is the most popular whiskey to use in a green tea shot, and they are sometimes colloquially referred to as “Jameson Green Teas.” However, there is no proof that this essential whiskey brand had anything to do with the shot’s invention, and the official website doesn’t even list a recipe for green tea shots. What we do know is that green tea shots were invented some time in the 2000s and started gaining popularity in the early 2010s, especially in Midwestern college bars (it’s sometimes traced back to Madison, Wisconsin, home of the UW Badgers). These days, almost any bartender in the U.S. could make you a green tea shot, and while it’s not heart-healthy like actual green tea, it will surely liven up your party.
