You may also know this sweet, fruity drink (think Hawaiian Punch with a kick) as a southern slammer. It makes a great pitcher drink for game day or sipping by the pool!
This recipe is meant for people over 21 years old. Please drink responsibly.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Gorgeous red color!
- If you're a University of Alabama fan it's required.
- Sweet and refreshing fruity flavor.
It's made with Southern Comfort, sloe gin, and amaretto. No one really knows who invented it but legend says that it was created at the University of Alabama in the mid-1970s...and who am I to argue?
With it's bright red color it's supposedly the signature drink of Crimson Tide.
What I do know is that this gorgeous ruby cocktail is one of my favorites, right along with my vanilla gin and tonic!
🧾 Ingredients
There is a lot of alcohol in this definitely all-adult beverage! Be sure to check the notes for variations to this recipe.
- Southern Comfort is a smooth whiskey that was created in New Orleans in 1874. It's actually a whiskey liqueur with a closely guarded ingredient list. Cherry and orange flavors are most commonly mentioned.
- Amaretto is an Italian almond liqueur.
- Sloe Gin is liqueur made with gin and a fruit that's related to a plum called sloe drupes. Glad you asked?
- Orange juice does give a bright flavor and helps to cut some of the syrupy sweetness from all the liqueurs.
- Grenadine, good grenadine, is actually a pomegranate based syrup. Most cheaper brands use some form of maraschino cherry juice.
- Maraschino cherries and the following ingredients are all garnish.
- Orange slices
- Lemon Slices
- Lime Slices
🔪 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.
- Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice.
- Add all the ingredients except the garnish to the shaker.
- Shake vigorously. This adds oxygen to the drink which helps intensify the flavor.
- Strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Or a paper cup - whatever.
- Garnish with an orange wedge, lemon or lime wheel, or cherry... or any combination!
💭 Tips for success
- Southern Comfort comes in different proofs (strengths). If you like the taste of alcohol and a less sweet drink go for the higher proofs. 70 proof is what I recommend.
- Some people feel that the Alabama Slammer tastes a bit like cherry cough medicine. If you are one of these then try adding an ounce of lemon juice or cranberry juice to help balance the sweet.
- A higher quality sloe gin will have better flavor. Don't skimp on quality here. Look for something that is at least 40 proof.
- This makes a great pitcher drink! Change the serving size in the recipe card below to 12 or so and the measurements of the ingredients will change as well.
📖 Variations
Like most things there are more than a couple of ways to make the iconic Alabama Slammer Cocktail.
Sloe gin is a red liqueur made with gin and small fruit related to the plum called sloe drupes.
It's not available everywhere but luckily there are ways around that.
- Substitute ¼ ounce grenadine and ¾ ounce vodka for the sloe gin
- Add a little vodka for extra kick
- Add ½ ounce peach schnapps
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- Squeeze of lime
- Cranberry juice or Pineapple juice instead of orange juice
- Sprite or club soda for some sparkle
- Alabama Slammer Cocktails are sometimes served as shots.
👩🏻🍳 Frequently asked questions
Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.
It's a bright crimson cocktail that's made with Southern Comfort, Amaretto, Sloe Gin, orange juice and grenadine. It's the official unofficial drink of the University of Alabama - and is often served as a shot. I'd guess the "slammer" part is related to "slamming back" a shot. But... who knows?
Gin is a clear, distilled alcohol made with grain and flavored with juniper berries while Sloe gin is a sweet liqueur made from a sloe berry and is red. Gin has a much higher alcohol content.
Please note: Sloe Gin is NOT Slow Gin. In fact, it can hit you very, very fast.
Sloe gin, Southern Comfort, and Amaretto are the most common ingredients.
📚 Related recipes
Love this classic cocktail? You may also love these recipes!
- Sex in the Driveway is bright blue and tastes like summer vacation.
- Frozen Banana Daiquiri is sweet slushy goodness with an adorable dolphin garnish.
- Sangria Sunrise is a glorious twist on a tequila sunrise. So good!
🥄 Equipment
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There are always things that make creating recipes easier. This is a super easy recipe but one thing that makes it amazing is a good grenadine. Most of the grenadine you find in the store is not real grenadine - oh it's red but it's like cherry juice. Real grenadine is made with pomegranate and makes a huge difference!
You'll also want a highball glass or two. I think a tall glass without anything fancy on it shows off the crimson color better - and it holds more.
Alcohol + Teenagers +1976
In the mid-1970s I was 15 but there is a statute of limitations and so I think that whatever I say after this point is covered by layers of dust.
At age 15 my main goal in life was to have a boyfriend and be part of the cool crowd. It was relatively easy to accomplish the first but the second goal eluded me until I didn't really care anymore.
In fact, it is interesting to note that I became infinitely more popular amongst my high school peers after I published my first book and established myself as a food writer.
C'est la vie
For my 16th birthday my best friend came to pick me up to take me out. My mother LOVED him and was totally sure I was completely safe in his hands.
Excuse me while I laugh hysterically.
So he came to pick me up on a warm April evening in 1976 and I was ready in my Brittania jeans, wedge heels, and tube top _ Texas big hair, super shiny kissing gloss, and kohl rimmed eyes - I was the epitome of 1970s style.
In the car he triumphantly lifted up two bottles of cherry vodka and two bottles of Sprite.
Our evening was set.
All I can tell you about that night is that throwing up cherry vodka and Sprite is awful and I can't stand the combination to this day.
Tailgating
So what does this have to do with an Alabama Slammer Cocktail?
Not much... it was just a funny story... but there are some similar flavors. Southern Comfort has a fruity, almost cherry, flavor to it and when you mix it with the other ingredients magic happens.
Plus it turns a bright crimson, which happens to be my favorite color. The Alabama Slammer Cocktail came back to life in the Tom Cruise film, Cocktail. I suspect a lot of cocktails came back to life in that movie!
Lastly, I assume some of y'all are sporting sweatshirts that proclaim, Roll Tide and showing up at a tailgating party with several Mason jars of this iconic cocktail in an ice chest would make you very popular.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it a 5 star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Alabama Slammer Cocktail
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Equipment Needed
Ingredients
- 1 ounce Southern Comfort
- 1 ounce Sloe Gin, , may substitute vodka
- 1 ounce Amaretto , or Orgeat
- ½ ounce grenadine
- 3 ounces orange juice
- Ice
- orange wheel, or lemon wedge, or lime wedge for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice.
- Add all the ingredients except the garnish to the shaker.
- Shake vigorously. This adds oxygen to the drink which helps intensify the flavor.
- Strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Or a paper cup - whatever.
- Garnish with an orange wedge, lemon or lime wheel, or cherry... or any combination!
Notes
- Substitute ¼ ounce grenadine and ¾ ounce vodka for the sloe gin
- Southern Comfort comes in different proofs (strengths). If you like the taste of alcohol and a less sweet drink go for the higher proofs. 70 proof is what I recommend.
- A higher quality sloe gin will have better flavor. Don't skimp on quality here. Look for something that is at least 40 proof.
- This makes a great pitcher drink! Change the serving size in the recipe card to 12 or so and the measurements of the ingredients will change as well.
Nutrition Facts
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We'll never share your email or send you spam. Pinkie swear.First published May 5, 2018. Last updated June 24, 2021 for readability, user experience, and better instructions.
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