B-52

Kahlúa, Baileys, and Cointreau in three density-separated layers — named for the B-52 Stratofortress (USAF, 1955), three liqueur traditions in a single glass.

The B-52 is one of the most precisely executed layered shots in the standard bar repertoire, combining Kahlúa coffee liqueur, Baileys Original Irish Cream, and Cointreau orange liqueur in three distinct horizontal strata whose density differences — Kahlúa being the densest, Baileys intermediate, and Cointreau the lightest — maintain visual separation when poured correctly over the back of a bar spoon. The shot takes its name from the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, the long-range strategic bomber that entered United States Air Force service on February 5, 1955, becoming one of the most iconic American military aircraft of the Cold War era and still in operational service over six decades later. The B-52's longevity and the bomber's fearsome reputation made it a commercial naming choice for a dramatically layered, intensely flavored shot. The B-52s, the Athens, Georgia rock band formed in 1976, whose debut album was released in 1979, may also have contributed to the name's cocktail culture resonance through the 1980s. Kahlúa — the Mexican coffee liqueur created in 1936 — Baileys Irish Cream — launched in 1974 as the world's first commercial cream liqueur — and Cointreau — produced in Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou since 1875 — together represent three distinct liqueur traditions in a single shot.