Irish Breakfast Cocktail (Modified)

A vibrant citrus-forward Collins cocktail: Irish whiskey and butterscotch liqueur shaken with fresh orange juice, then topped with ginger beer for a spicy kick. Based on the original shooter, scaled up to a full drink. Rates 8.3/10 — the ginger beer is the game changer.

smart_display Published 2026-04-13 download Extracted 2026-04-17

3m Prep

3m Total

1 Servings

cocktail irish-whiskey butterscotch orange-juice ginger-beer easy citrus highball shaken beginner-friendly

Ingredients

60 ml Irish Whiskey (Bushmills or similar) (2 oz; 40% ABV)
15 ml Butterscotch Liqueur (e.g. McGuinness) (½ oz; 21% ABV; caramel liqueur can substitute)
90 ml Fresh Orange Juice (3 oz; freshly squeezed preferred (about 2 small navel oranges))
60 ml Ginger Beer (Fever-Tree recommended) (2 oz; added last as topper — this is the game-changer ingredient)

Steps

1

Add Irish whiskey (2 oz), butterscotch liqueur (½ oz), and fresh orange juice (3 oz) to a shaker tin. Add ice.

~1 min
2

Shake hard for 10 seconds.

~1 min
3

Strain through a Hawthorne strainer into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. No need to fine strain.

~1 min
4

Top with ginger beer (2 oz). Give a very light stir just to incorporate. Serve immediately.

Tip: Ginger beer elevates this from a 6 to an 8+ — don't substitute with soda water if you can help it.

~1 min

Nutrition (per serving)

195

Calories

Protein

22g

Carbs

Cultural Context

The Irish Breakfast cocktail is a modern American bar drink inspired by the flavors of a traditional Irish morning — whiskey, citrus marmalade, and sweet richness. Originally conceived as a shooter, it was evolved into a longer, sippable Collins format. Butterscotch liqueur (like McGuinness Butterscotch Schnapps, at 21% ABV) mimics the sweetness of treacle and syrupy breakfast flavors, while ginger beer adds spicy complexity. Irish whiskey — triple-distilled, smooth, and unpeated — makes an ideal base for citrus cocktails due to its clean, lightly sweet profile compared to Scotch or bourbon. In this version, substituting ginger beer for plain soda water is the creator's key modification, adding aromatic depth that elevates the drink considerably.