Aftershock (liqueur)

Aftershock is a liqueur drink produced in Canada by Jim Beam Brands and distributed by Munson Shaw Co. of Deerfield, Illinois. It has a thick, syrupy consistency and is available in six varieties:

* Red (Hot & Cool Cinnamon)
* Blue (Deep Cool Citrus)
* Black (Cranberry)
* Silver ( Apple & Red Bull)
* Green (Thermal Bite Aniseed)
* Orange Limited Edition '10' (Spicy Apple Flavoured) (Celebrating 10 years of After Shock.)

Aftershock was first marketed in 1997, and marketed primarily to younger drinkers. All varieties of Aftershock contain 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof). Popular in the UK, the drink spawned several drinking games, the most common of which being "The Aftershock Challenge", in which participants have to hold a shot of red Aftershock in their mouths without swallowing for as long as possible.Another challenge associated with Aftershock takes advantage of the powerful fumes that evaporate from the drink. A drinker is to down a shot, hold the hand over the top of the shotglass (as to keep the fumes sealed) and then to inhale them up the nose; the intended effect is a powerful alcohol-induced headrush. One of the most brutal Aftershock drinking games is The Evil Traffic Light, where the 3 original colours must be downed in order of strength or flavour, i.e. Red then Blue, then Green as fast as possible, leaving all 3 extremely strong opposing flavours in the mouth at once, as 3 shots of alcohol enter the stomach.

In addition to the Aftershock drinking games, Aftershock shots are sometimes drunk in combination with other Aftershock shots or with other alcoholic drinks. Popular Aftershock cocktails include:

* StrongShock (A pint of Strongbow with Red Aftershock poured on top.)
* Purple Haze (One shot each of Red and Blue Aftershock in a double shotglass)
* Radiation (Two shots of Blue Aftershock, two shots of sambuca and one can of Red Bull)
* Floating Guinness (Two shots of Blue Aftershock, one bottle of blue WKD and half a pint of Guinness)
* Brown Haze (Less popular due to its brown colour, one shot each of Red and Green Aftershock)
* Blue Alfredo (blue Aftershock mixed with blue WKD, tastes like pleasant mouthwash, invented in a dream)
* Christmas (red Aftershock mixed with blue WKD, so called because it is likened to drinking glitter (also erroneously known as Cheeky Vimto, as it takes on the purple colour of Vimto))
* Liquid Fireball (A shot of Red Aftershock and Jägermeister tastes like fireball sweets and burns your throat)

Aftershock cocktails are extremely potent and are usually not sold mixed, although the individual components can be usually bought separately with the intention of mixing.

In August 2008, it was announced that the Alcohol Content (abv) would be lowered to 30%, from 40%. It was also announced that the Green variant (Thermal Bite) would be discontinued.

External links

* [http://web.archive.org/web/19970430222317/http://www.aftershock.com/ Aftershock website (Internet Archive)]
* [http://www.cocktailmaking.co.uk/aftershock.php Details of Aftershock cocktails]