Ruby Slipper Shot

A glittering red shot inspired by Wizard of Oz, combining grenadine with vodka and optional edible glitter.

The Ruby Slipper shot takes its name from one of the most iconic props in American cinema: the ruby slippers worn by Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz, the 1939 MGM musical film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Judy Garland. In L. Frank Baum's original 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy's magical shoes were described as silver; the film's costume department changed them to ruby red specifically to showcase the capabilities of Technicolor, the three-strip color film process that MGM was using in one of its most ambitious early productions. Costume designer Adrian created multiple pairs of the ruby slippers — five are known to survive — decorated with approximately 2,300 hand-sewn red sequins each, and the shoes became the film's most recognizable symbol of Dorothy's journey from the sepia-toned Kansas farmhouse to the vivid Technicolor world of Oz and back again. The shot's deep red color, produced by grenadine — the pomegranate-based syrup whose name derives from the French word for pomegranate, grenade — directly references the slippers' vivid crimson. Grenadine has been a bar ingredient since the late 19th century, appearing in cocktail books from the 1890s onward, and its combination with vodka produces a sweet, berry-forward shot that is gentle enough for casual drinkers while still delivering the color effect the name requires.