Name: Shaft
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 60 ml Cold brew coffee; 30 ml Vodka; 30 ml Irish cream liqueur; 15 ml Coffee liqueur

Shaft
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Serve in an Old-fashioned glass

Ingredients:
2 oz	Cold brew coffee
1 oz	Ketel One Vodka
1 oz	Irish cream liqueur
¹⁄₂ oz	Galliano Espresso Coffee liqueur

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

SHAKE all ingredients with ice and fine strain into ice-filled glass. Serve with a straw.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Irish cream liqueur - Dairy

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

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Review:

Irish cream liqueur adds a creamy mocha note to this Shaft version but some make with cream and others milk, either combining all ingredients prior to pouring or adding milk/cream as a float (as with a White Russian).

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Variant:

Vodka Espresso; Espresso Martini; Mocha Martini

History:

Named after private detective John Shaft, the lead character in the 1971 cult movie Shaft, hired by a Harlem gangster to rescue his daughter from the Italian mobsters who kidnapped her. The film's theme song, Theme From Shaft, was an Academy Award-winning hit in its own right.

The creation of the Shaft cocktail, circa 2000, is credited to Mark Smith whilst bartending at The Living Room restaurant in Calgary, Canada, as a built (rather than shaken) caffeinated pick-me-up shot originally consisting simply espresso with a splash of Kahlúa coffee liqueur and skimmed milk.

This cocktail became ubiquitous in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, Canada, leading many to speculate that this is its true birthplace. Indeed, it was a Victoria resident and fellow Discerning Drinker, Sean Gordon, who first brought the Shaft to my attention in June 2019, saying, "There is a locally invented cocktail/shot called a Shaft", adding "some will sip it but it's most commonly downed in one. It's basically a grownup Jaeger-bomb substitute."

As Sean told me back in 2019, "There's variation from one bar to another". From what I can tell, it seems likely that the original Shaft was created in Calgary and, at some point during its journey to Victoria, the drink morphed with vodka added and Irish cream liqueur often replacing milk. The original espresso coffee base is also widely substituted for cold brew coffee.

Nutrition:

One serving of Shaft contains 220 calories

Alcohol content:

1.1 standard drinks
11.76% alc./vol. (11.76° proof)
15.9 grams of pure alcohol

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Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Jeremy Harrold

3rd July 2023 at 00:13

I tried it with Wild-Arbor plant based liqueur. For me it needed a good strong espresso but still a decent dessert cocktail.

G. M. Genovese

28th June 2023 at 02:52

I've been seeking out recipes including Irish cream liqueur recently (don't drink it too often; trying to rid of a bottle). Ooh, is it a tough one to weave into sips... This recipe I will have to research more, given it's history and the ingredients... Best thing I came up with now is: 45 ml cold brew coffee, 30 ml Bacardi Carta Blanca, 20 ml Irish cream, 15 ml coffee liqueur (Borghetti)... Tried my specs with Cognac; interesting, but wouldn't recommend... Interested to hear of your findings.

Duncan McIntyre

2nd February 2022 at 05:16

Victoria transplant from Calgary here: I think it is also worth pointing out that the shaft is often built layered and, in the case of the layered version, drunk from the bottom up through a straw.