This past winter I was on a big Black and Tan kick. My wife and I went to a 50th birthday party in an Irish Pub and I drank quite a few of them that night and that brought back some good memories. It was one of my go to drink choices when I went out in my Hoboken days. I was a lot younger back then and I wasn’t going to 50th birthday parties that’s for sure but it still tasted just as good as I remembered. I really don’t know why I haven’t had a black and tan or one of it’s many variations in years.
Ever since that night, when I have a hankering for a good beer, I grab a Guinness and make one of these awesome layered beer drinks. I’ve tried lots of different variations but I have to say that my favorite is the snake bite.
A Snake Bite drink is technically 1/2 lager and 1/2 hard cider but in the US it’s mostly served with Guinness. You pour the hard cider into the glass first. Then you slowly pour the Guinness over the back of a spoon so that it’s drips down the side of the glass and sits on top of the cider. And if you’re out of practice pouring over a spoon like I was, then you need one of these The Perfect Black and Tan Beer Layering Tool. Check out my YouTube video about to see how to use it. Definitely turns making a black and tan or snake bite drink into a no skill required event.
They say that the Snake Bite drink is the poor man’s version of a Black Velvet (which is a stout and champagne)
And here’s some more useful information about the Snakebite Drink
Snakebite and Black is the drink I described above, plus a splash of a black currant cordial. This drink can also be called a Diesel.
Add a shot of vodka to a Snake Bite and Black/Diesel and you have a Turbo Diesel
There’s a rumor that the Snake Bite drink is illegal in the UK. It actually is not illegal but many bar owners choose not to serve this drink because people tend to over indulge because it’s tastes so damn good.