Motor Oil Shot

A dark, intense shot combining Jagermeister, peppermint schnapps, and coconut rum that looks like motor oil.

The Motor Oil Shot is a novelty party shooter named for its visual resemblance to automotive motor oil — the dark, viscous lubricant used in internal combustion engines. The combination of Jägermeister, Rumple Minze peppermint schnapps, cinnamon schnapps (typically Goldschläger), and butterscotch schnapps produces a dark, thick-looking mixture in a shot glass whose color and apparent consistency suggest used engine oil with reasonable accuracy. The shot belongs to the category of appearance-named drinks that proliferated in American bar culture through the 1980s and 1990s — the Cement Mixer, the Motor Oil, the Dirty Bastard — where the visual description was the primary marketing concept. Jägermeister's commercial transformation from German digestif to American nightclub spirit through Sidney Frank Importing Company's promotional campaigns of the late 1980s and 1990s made it the base spirit for dozens of combination shots of this type. Rumple Minze, bottled at 50% ABV, provides both chill (from menthol activating the cold receptor) and heat (from the alcohol itself) in rapid succession. Goldschläger, the Swiss cinnamon schnapps produced with 24-karat gold flakes suspended in the liquid, adds warming spice and the visual drama of visible gold. The butterscotch schnapps's dairy caramel sweetness softens the combination.