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The Baby Guinness recipe
in two layers
Chill the Baileys in the refrigerator for half an hour. When cold, it’s slightly thicker, so the layer sits better.
Pour 3 cl of coffee liqueur into a narrow shot glass.
Hold a bar spoon with the rounded side facing up just above the liqueur, with the tip against the inside of the glass.
Pour 1 cl of Baileys very slowly over the rounded side of a spoon so a creamy layer floats on top of the coffee liqueur.
Serve immediately. Drink it in one gulp.
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The story
No one knows exactly who came up with the Baby Guinness. The best-known story takes place in Dublin, sometime in the eighties or nineties. At the Waxie Dargle, a pub near a large maternity hospital that has since closed, the bartenders are said to have served the shot to new fathers. The name comes from its appearance, at any rate. The little glass looks like a pint of Guinness, the black stout from Dublin, with a light-colored foamy head. The shot only came about after Baileys launched in 1974 as the first Irish cream. In Ireland, Kahlúa is now the most commonly used coffee liqueur for this shot. You see it often at bachelorette parties there, and it’s also on shot menus far beyond Ireland, often alongside the B52 Shot.
The right glass
A Baby Guinness is served in a narrow, straight shot glass holding 4 to 6 cl. The narrower the glass, the thicker the white head looks and the more it resembles a mini pint. Use clear glass without decoration so you can see the two layers best. A heavy base keeps a full row of shot glasses steady on the tray. If you use a 6 cl glass, pour in 4 cl of coffee liqueur and just over 1 cl of Baileys. View our shot glasses.
Arcoroc Islande Shot Glass 6.5 cl (12 pieces)
RCR Opera Shot Glass 6 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 44,90.
The right tools
For a Baby Guinness, you’ll need a bar spoon for stirring and a jigger for precise measuring, in addition to the glass. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you’ll find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our pick 01) + 2 bar tools together € 58,85.
Variations & twists
Tia Maria is a Jamaican rum-based coffee liqueur that adds more vanilla to the bottom layer. Some bars top it with whipped cream or lightly whipped Baileys to make the collar look even more like stout foam. Other pubs use black sambuca instead of coffee liqueur, bringing it close to the Slippery Nipple. If you’d rather have a glass than a shot, make a Baileys cocktail with the same flavors.
Serving tip
Make a whole row at once. First pour the coffee liqueur into all the glasses, then add a layer of Baileys to each glass one by one, so you don’t have to keep switching bottles. Serve them promptly, while the layers are at their sharpest.
Good to know
Making a Baby Guinness without a bar spoon
A bar spoon is handy because it’s long and has a small, rounded bowl. A regular teaspoon works too. Turn it over with the rounded side facing up and hold it just above the coffee liqueur, against the side of the glass. Pour the Baileys from a jigger or small jug in a thin stream. The cream shouldn’t fall into the liqueur from a height. It should gently run over the spoon to the rim. If you don’t have a spoon at all, pour very slowly down the inside of the glass. The separation won’t be quite as neat.
Why does the Baileys float
It’s all about density. Coffee liqueur is packed with sugar, which makes it heavier than Baileys, which contains cream and less sugar. The lighter liquid stays on top if you pour it on gently. Pour too quickly and the Baileys sinks through the liqueur, leaving you with a brown mix instead of two layers. Cold Baileys is a little thicker and flows more slowly off the spoon. That helps. It never works the other way around, because coffee liqueur sinks straight through Baileys.
Which coffee liqueur should you choose
Kahlúa is the standard and is also the most commonly used in Irish pubs. It’s sweet and dark, with a distinct roasted coffee flavor. Tia Maria has slightly more alcohol and more vanilla. Both are heavy enough to support a layer of Baileys. A lighter, less sweet craft coffee liqueur looks nice, but the layers won’t be as neat. So try one first. Bottle not empty yet? Use it in an Espresso Martini or a Black Russian.
How much alcohol is in a Baby Guinness
Not much for a shot. In the Netherlands, Kahlúa is 16 percent alcohol and Baileys is 17 percent, so the whole shot comes to around 16 percent. A 4 cl shot contains about 0.65 cl of pure alcohol, or roughly 5 grams. That’s half a standard drink. That’s why it’s often served as an after-dinner drink. Using 20 percent Tia Maria raises the alcohol content a little. A shot glass of the same size filled with straight spirits contains more than twice as much alcohol.
Baby Guinness for a group
For a party or a bachelorette party, line up ten to twelve shot glasses on a tray. First, pour the coffee liqueur into each glass using a jigger, so they’re all filled to the same level and the head is equally thick in each one. Then add the layer of Baileys to each glass, one at a time, using the same bar spoon. Keep a cloth handy to wipe up drips along the rim. A 70 cl bottle of coffee liqueur will make more than twenty shots. Find more ideas for a round of drinks in our shots.
Baby Guinness, B52 and Slippery Nipple
All three are layered shots with Irish cream, and you make them using the same motion over the rounded side of a spoon. The Baby Guinness has two layers: coffee liqueur with a thin head of Baileys. The B52 has a third layer of Grand Marnier, which makes it stronger and adds a fresher orange flavor. The Slippery Nipple has clear sambuca as its base, so it tastes of anise instead of coffee. If you can make a Baby Guinness, the other two are a small step up.
Frequently asked questions
What's in a Baby Guinness?
3 cl coffee liqueur, usually Kahlúa, topped with a 1 cl layer of Baileys. Three to one. The dark liqueur is the “beer,” and the Baileys is the creamy head. There's no Guinness in it.
Does a Baby Guinness really contain Guinness?
No, it doesn't contain beer. The name only refers to its appearance. Black coffee liqueur topped with a light head of Irish cream looks like a mini pint of Guinness. It tastes sweet, like coffee with cream, and nothing like stout.
How do you get the Baileys to sit on top as a layer?
Slowly pour the Baileys over the rounded side of a bar spoon held against the side of the glass, just above the coffee liqueur. The cream then gently slides to the edge and floats because the sugary coffee liqueur is heavier. Cold Baileys works best.
Which glass do you use for a Baby Guinness?
A narrow, straight shot glass holding 4 to 6 cl, made of clear glass. In a narrow glass, the head looks thicker and the pint more realistic. A heavy base keeps a row of glasses stable on the tray.
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