The Imbiber put in a call earlier this week to a representative from Diageo, parent company of Guinness and Bailey’s Original Irish Cream, two of the three ingredients used to make that most leg-wobbling of grog shop concoctions, the Car Bomb. As many of the more intrepid pub crawlers out there are no doubt aware, the increasingly popular Car Bomb is a pretty simple conceit: Combine an ounce each of Bailey’s and Jameson’s Irish Whiskey in a shot glass, drop shot into half a pint of Guinness, and chug it down. Gathering solid information about the origin of the drink, on the other hand, has proven to be quite a challenge. None of the usually reliable mixologists I contacted had any idea where the Car Bomb originated, but a few were quite sure I needed to settle some rather large bar tabs. The Diageo rep wouldn’t fess up, claiming only that the Car Bomb is an affront to the company’s high-minded advisory to “drink responsibly.” Yeah, whatever!
A cry for help sent out to members of the Imbiber’s Preferred Readers Club did-n’t shed much light on the history of the Car Bomb either, but several replies spoke volumes about the drink’s potency. “The ingredients in a Car Bomb are best compared to men and relationships,” wrote Leigh Monk of Philadelphia. “Separate, they’re great, but together they make me want to puke.”
From Brian McCole, also from Philly: “I'm a happy Irish bartender at an Irish pub. I know I'm serving someone of questionable drinking age when a fresh face comes up to the bar and asks, ‘Uh, sir, can I have three Irish Car Bombs?’ At which point I immediately become a stern German bartender and demand ‘Your papers, please!’”
The final word on the matter comes from Alli in Manhattan: “Anyone smart enough to know anything about something as obscure as the history of the Car Bomb is smart enough to avoid drinking them.” Put THAT in your Guinness and chug it!
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 20, 2006. Read the original PDF.