Mexican Flag Shot

Green crème de menthe, Irish cream, and grenadine — Mexico's tricolor (1810–1821 War of Independence), the eagle-on-cactus coat of arms occupying the white center.

The Mexican Flag Shot is a layered party shooter designed to reproduce the visual identity of Mexico's national tricolor flag in a glass — green, white, and red stacked in separate layers to replicate the flag's three vertical bands. Mexico's national flag was formalized through the War of Independence (1810–1821) from the tricolor banner carried by the insurgent forces, drawing on the symbolism of the French tricolor while developing an independent Mexican identity. The traditional colors carried the following meanings in the independence period: green for independence, white for the Catholic religion, and red for the union between Mexicans of European, Indigenous, and African descent. The Mexican coat of arms — featuring an eagle perched on a cactus devouring a serpent — occupies the flag's white center band and depicts an Aztec founding myth describing the site of Tenochtitlan. The shot typically achieves its three-layer effect using green crème de menthe or Midori melon liqueur for the green, Irish cream or cream liqueur for the white, and grenadine or a red fruit liqueur for the red. The careful density-based layering required by the preparation makes the Mexican Flag Shot a skill demonstration for the bartender as well as a visual conversation piece for the drinker. Cinco de Mayo celebrations and Mexican Independence Day on September 16 are the primary occasions for which the shot is ordered.