Piggy Back Shot Recipe

Prepare juice

Combine the pickles and their brine (use whole pickles or spears) in a blender or food processor. Add 1/2 cup filtered water, 2 tablespoons white vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 smashed garlic clove, 1 tablespoon fresh dill fronds, and 6 black peppercorns.

Pulse or blend on low until the solids are broken down and the mixture is homogenous but not completely foamed (10–20 seconds).

Strain the blended mixture through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. You should yield roughly 1 cup of pickle juice—enough for about 8 Piggy Back Shots. Discard solids or reserve for another use.

Taste the juice and adjust: if it's too intense, dilute with up to 2 tablespoons more water; if too mild, add another teaspoon of vinegar or a pinch more salt. Chill the juice in the refrigerator until cold (at least 15 minutes).

Store leftover juice in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Chill shot glasses (optional): place shot glasses in the freezer for 5–10 minutes or rinse with ice water. This keeps both components cold.

If using ice to chill ingredients, fill a mixing glass with ice and briefly chill the Jameson and pickle juice (10–15 seconds), then discard ice and pour liquids into shot glasses.

Pour 1 shot (approximately 1.5 fl oz) of Jameson into a shot glass.

Follow immediately with 1 shot (approximately 1.5 fl oz) of the chilled house-made pickle juice into a separate shot glass (the traditional Piggy Back is two shots served together).

Serve the two shots side-by-side so the drinker can take the Jameson shot and then chase it with the pickle juice shot (or vice versa, per preference). Optionally present a fresh dill sprig alongside as garnish.

Consume responsibly. One recipe batch yields about 8 pickle-juice shots; scale whiskey portions to match number of guests.