The Most Embarrassing Whiskey-Based Drinks To Order

Ordering an Irish Car Bomb in a bar is the perfect way to make yourself look both completely culturally insensitive and totally immature at the same time — not exactly the look you were going for when you sidled up to the bar. In case you've never been to a college party where Irish Car Bombs were the drink of choice, you should know that this drink is more about the show than the taste.

The drink involves dropping a shot glass filled with Jameson Irish Whiskey and Bailey's Irish Cream into a Guinness, according to Cool Material. Irish Car Bombs are meant to be chugged as quickly as possible because once the whiskey, beer, and cream come together, the drink turns into a science experiment and the whole thing begins to curdle. Is your stomach turning yet? If not, it will be once all that hits your stomach.

But even if that all sounds like fun, you should know that the Irish Car Bomb is not a thing in Ireland in all. In fact, you could be perceived as a major jerk if your order one there, because deadly car bombs are a painful reality of the country's past political conflict, according to The New York Times. The drink may not be named after the Bloody Friday attack on Northern Ireland, But Eater says many Irish still take offense at the name.

There are no rules that say your days of downing shots have to end when you move out of the fraternity house. In fact, there's nothing wrong with the occasional celebratory shooter. But the Three Wise Men is a whiskey shot that may make some serious whiskey connoisseurs clutch their pearls. 

The recipe for Three Wise Men calls for equal parts Johnnie Walker, Jim Beam, and Jack Daniel's to be combined into one seriously strong whiskey shooter, according to Cool Material. Considering that you're drinking a bourbon, a Tennessee whiskey, and a Scotch whisky all in one shot, you definitely aren't ordering this drink to experience the flavor of each distinct type of whiskey, and no self-respecting whiskey-drinker would combine these names into one absurd shooter. Plain and simple, you're ordering this drink to get drunk — and fast. And we all know that's just not a good look.

If you really want to double-down on your embarrassing order, try the Three Wise Men Go Hunting shot, an even stronger (and more embarrassing) variation which adds Wild Turkey to this already ridiculous concoction.

When it comes to cocktails, it doesn't get much more classic than Jack and Coke. The time-honored cocktail is made by adding the cola of your choice to a glass with Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey on ice. The drink, which gives you a nice buzz along with a bonus dose of caffeine, was the original Red Bull and vodka before the energy drink was even invented, as Cool Material noted. They also included this cocktail on its list of drinks that a person should never order after reaching the age of 30. It just makes you look like you can't handle the whiskey on its own.

Even if you don't believe you need to find a more adult drink, there is a reason to reconsider your order as you age. While you may not be embarrassed to order Jack and Coke at the bar (we admit, it does have a bit of a classic vibe), you may be embarrassed by some of the things you do if you have too many. Researchers at Brown University conducted a study which found that participants who drank bourbon were more intoxicated (i.e., more willing to do questionable things) and reported worse hangovers than those who drank the same amount of vodka. And all that Coke addition does is make it easier for you to down a lot more Jack Daniel's than you would if you were drinking it straight. 

If you're thinking about ordering an Old Fashioned the next time you're out at your local dive bar, think again. For starters, the name sounds like something only your grandfather would drink, and ordering one makes you sound like you've been kidnapped by the late 1800s, which is when a similar drink (made with gin) was first introduced. According to Esquire, the traditional Old Fashioned recipe calls for bourbon or rye whiskey, bitters, a muddled sugar cube, and club soda.  

Grandfatherly tendencies aside, ordering an Old Fashioned at a bar that doesn't specifically have it on the menu may leave you on seriously bad terms with your bartender. Making the perfect Old Fashioned — which is what you expect, of course — can be a lot of work, and could be seriously stressful for an already overworked bartender during the happy hour rush. And as Westword points out, bartenders are likely to give you some serious stink eye if you ask them to "make it the right way." And upsetting the bartender should be enough to embarrass anyone.

Let's face it, the drink is called an Old Fashioned because no one going out to bars in this century should be asking for it.

Let's get one thing straight: Ordering a drink named after drug paraphernalia is the opposite of cool. Which is why you should definitely be embarrassed to go into a bar and ask for a crack pipe shot. But apparently, someone out there is doing it — and they should be embarrassed.

According to Tipsy Bartender, the crack pipe shot is actually a real thing that you can ask for by name. The shot is made with equal parts Wild Turkey, Rumple Minze, and 151-proof rum — and as the name implies, all that is going to hit you pretty hard.

Considering that certain bottles of Wild Turkey bourbon whiskey are 101-proof (or 81-proof at the least), Rumple Minze peppermint schnapps is 100-proof, and 151 rum is well, 151-proof, this is not a shot for a novice drinker (or any drinker who wants to remain standing, really.). It doesn't even bother adding fruit juice or soda to make it go down smoother, probably because there's not much that can make that happen for this one. One shot contains enough alcohol to keep you going throughout the night, but of course, no one doing a crack pipe shot is going to stop at just one, and will likely have to hear some pretty embarrassing stories the next day. If the name isn't enough to make you not order it, the probable aftermath should be.

Southern Comfort typically shares shelf space with the many types of whiskey in the world, leaving most people to think that it's just one of the guys. However, as HuffPost points out, it is technically more like a whiskey-flavored liqueur with fruit and spices — enough to be an embarrassment to whiskey on its own. But don't let the sweetness fool you. The spirit, which comes in original, 80, and 100-proof versions, packs a powerful punch.

When it's not served neat or on the rocks, Southern Comfort, or SoCo as it is affectionately nicknamed, is often paired with fruit mixers like orange and cranberry. SoCo and lime is one of the most popular combinations. According to Tipsy Bartender, this drink contains exactly what its name implies. Made with Southern Comfort and lime juice, SoCo and lime is meant to be a shooter, with a lime garnish. 

But once you leave college, you should probably leave this drink behind as well. This is especially true if you were known to make bad decisions after downing a few of these citrusy shots. In fact, the SoCo and lime shot made Cool Material's list of drinks you should never order after age 30. Leave the sweetened not-even-actual-whiskey shooters for the college kids and pick a grown-up drink instead.