How To Make A Flaming Dr Pepper Shot With Beer As The Main Character

Beer-and-shot combinations are on fire these days — literally. Boilermakers, or beers paired with shots of liquor, have long been a bar staple but have become especially trendy lately with all kinds of interesting matchups, including stout beers and amaro shots. But to get a little adventurous, you'll need a lighter. The Flaming Dr. Pepper shot is a showstopper — and it requires a good beer to make it happen.

As one of the world's most popular beer-and-shot combos, a Flaming Dr. Pepper surprisingly contains no Dr. Pepper. Instead, this shot is made up of beer, amaretto, and overproof rum. The beer's carbonation mixed with the amaretto's almond-like sweetness and the rum's fruit, vanilla, and spice notes combine to recreate the complex flavor profile of Dr. Pepper. Then, the whole thing is set ablaze. The overproof rum is carefully layered on top of the amaretto shot by being poured slowly onto a spoon over the amaretto. You would then (carefully) light that shot.

The overproof rum works like delicious fuel for the fire. When you pick the shot up and plunk it into the beer (again, carefully), the flame extinguishes. To be safe, you can blow out the flame after a second and then drop it in. Then, you down the rum, amaretto, and beer together. While like a Jager bomb, a beer-and-shot pairing that has its own showy ritual, a Flaming Dr. Pepper is unique in that you can put some special focus on the beer and get creative.

It's debated where exactly this shot originated: The Ptarmigan Club in Bryan, Texas; or The Gold Mine Saloon in New Orleans. But whoever was behind the shot, clearly its inventors liked a good party. While the amaretto, rum, and actual fire can seem like scene-stealers, the Flaming Dr. Pepper only succeeds with a beer you truly like. Otherwise, you've got about half a glass of a mediocre beer, and it promises to spoil the sweet, spicy, Dr. Pepper-like experience of the amaretto and rum.

Lagers are a classic option. While you certainly don't have to, the Flaming Dr. Pepper is conventionally chugged. Since it's not a terrific idea to chug a strong beer, perhaps a low-ABV lager would be the best way to play it safe. Plus, most lagers are crisp and clean in flavor; they'd just provide a bittersweet backbone with their hops and grain, as well as that carbonation factor.

Consider beer-pairing tips for fresh ideas when you make Flaming Dr. Peppers, too. The roasty coffee and chocolate notes of a stout would marry beautifully with the rum and amaretto. Consider a drier, easier-drinking stout with a lower ABV like Guinness. Alternatively, wheat beers are another crisp, light option that's often fruited. You could mimic the flavors of different Dr. Pepper varieties — cherry with a cherry wheat beer, blackberry with blackberry, etc. Hoppier beers are likely too bitter for a Dr. Pepper taste, but as long as you keep things low-alcohol and light in body, you can try whatever flavor combos you like.