The myth of the Velvet Hammer

January 19, 2005 D. H. McKee

Girlfriend asks for a drink. Something sweet.
“How about a Velvet Hammer?” I ask.
“What’s in it?” she responds, her interest piqued.
“Beats the hell out of me.”

Apparently everyone’s heard of this drink, but nobody knows what goes into it. I’ve got a place mat from a chinese restaurant on the wall of my bar — the kind that has all the retro-looking drinks on it. It’s got a Velvet Hammer. So do all 4 of the bar books I have in front of me. They all tell a different tale. I decided to take this to the internet to see how many different “Velvet Hammers” there were out there.
Yikes!
Well, hopefully this will aid those in their quest for a Velvet Hammer. Hopefully when you make it for someone, they won’t already have an idea what it’s “supposed” to taste like, because some of these are really different tastes. I’d hate to be expecting something sweet and creamy and wind up getting a vanilla Guinness. So here’s my somewhat complete compendium of Velvet Hammer recipes. If you find any different ones, leave a comment. I’d like to see how many I can get.
Velvet Hammer Recipe #1 (most common recipe)
– 1/2 oz Crème de Cacao
– 1/2 oz Kahlua
– 1 oz Vodka
– 2 oz Cream
Shake ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.
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Velvet Hammer Recipe #2 (2nd most common recipe)
– 2 oz Cointreau
– 2 oz Tia Maria Coffee Liqueur
– 2 oz Half-and-Half
Pour all ingredients into a highball glass filled with ice cubes, and serve.
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Velvet Hammer Recipe #3
– 1 tbs Crème de Cacao
– 1 1/2 oz Vodka
– 1 tbs Cream
Shake ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.
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Velvet Hammer Recipe #4
– 1 pint Guinness Stout
– 1 oz Stoli Vanil Vodka
Pour a regular Guinness into a beer pilsner. Wait for head to settle, then add vodka, and serve.
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Velvet Hammer Recipe #5
– 1 tbs Light Cream
– 1 oz White Creme de Cacao
– 1 1/2 oz oz Strega (Italian for “Witch”) Liquor
Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.
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Velvet Hammer Recipe #6
– 2 oz Kahlua
– 2 oz cream
– 1/2 oz chocolate syrup
– 1/3 cup almonds
– 1 scoop vanilla ice cream
Pour all ingredients into blender, blend at high speed and serve.
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Velvet Hammer Recipe #7
– 1 package (10 ounces) frozen strawberries, sliced
– 1 cup light rum
– Juice of 2 lemons, (little less than 1/2 cup)
– Crushed ice
Blend until mixture is of icy, mushy consistency. Pour into daiquiri glasses.
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Velvet Hammer Recipe #8
– 1 oz Vodka
– 2 oz Cream
– 1 oz Chambord
– 1 scoop Ice Cream
– 1 oz Black Velvet Bourbon
Pour ingredients into blender, blend, serve in large, chilled glass.
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Velvet Hammer Recipe #9
– 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
– 1 oz vodka
– 1 oz white Crème de Cacao
– 1 oz triple sec
Pour ingredients into blender, blend and serve.
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Velvet Hammer Recipe #10
– 1 oz White Curacao
– 1 oz White Crème de Cacao
– 1 oz Double cream
Shake all the ingredients with ice, strain into a martini glass. Dust with nutmeg.
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Velvet Hammer Recipe #11
– 1 tbs Crème de Cacao
– 1 1/2 oz Vodka
– 2 tbs Cream
– 1/2 Banana
– 1 tsp Sugar
Put all ingredients in blender with ice. Puree until smooth.
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14 Responses to “The myth of the Velvet Hammer”

clvrmnky
20 years ago

Velvet Hammer #12
1 oz. Cointreau
1 oz. white crème de cacao
1 oz. half & half or cream
1/2 oz. brandy
Dr. Matt
20 years ago

Velvet Hammer #13
I’ve seen a variation on your #6 that replaces the chocolate syrup and one ounce of the Kahlua with an ounce of dark Creme de Cacao.
dmckee
19 years ago

Velvet Hammer #14
I was at a friend’s party and everyone was asking for a Velvet Hammer. When the supplies got low, I started making substitutions on recipes 1 and 2. I ended up making my own coffee liqueur on the stove with vodka, sugar, water and instant coffee. While it was brewing, I made all the VH’s with this recipe:
1 oz. vodka
1 oz. blue curacao
1 oz. Sheridan’s Black and White liqueur
Shake all the ingredients with ice, strain into a large martini glass. It’ll be greenish, but quite tasty.
dmckee
19 years ago

Found another one:
Velvet Hammer #15
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
2 ounces brandy
1 ounce Cointreau
1/2 ounce Creme de Banane
Place ingredients in blender. Mix until it’s a smooth, pourable consistency. Serve immediately in a champagne glass.
siobutt
19 years ago

#4 is called a Milkshake, not a Velvet Hammer… according my brother who’s a bartender… Also, my families version of the velvet hammer is quite different from any of the above… My godmother blends 1/4 cup triple sec and a 1/4 cup brandy into a quart of softened vanilla ice cream and serves it. Highly recommend this version.
zoolander
19 years ago

Velvet Hammer #16:
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
1 ounce Kahlua
1 ounce creme de cacao
1 ounce vodka
blend up in blender. Serve in wine glass.
dmckee
19 years ago

Hey siobutt, thanks for the comment.
Actually, there appears to be a common consensus on the “Milkshake Cocktail”. Most places have this recipe as containing an egg yolk, lemon juice, sugar syrup and Irish cream or milk. Possibly with some harder liquor in it, such as vodka. Though it’s entirely possible someone once called a Guinness and Vanilla Stoli a “Milkshake”.
Julie
17 years ago

anyone know about a champagne and guinness recipe? They serve one at Zachary’s in Santa cruz …
dmckee
17 years ago

I believe that falls into the whole “Black Velvet” realm, just like Guinness and Strongbow (which might also be called a Black Velveteen).
Black Velvet
http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink1315.html
Black Velveteen
http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink8421.html
Becky Grigsby
17 years ago

You don’t have the recipe that I was given in the early 70’s in Germany. Try this:
1 shot of Scotch
1 shot of White Creme de Cacao
1/2 shot of Cointreau
1 pint of ice cream – vanilla, strawberry, and the very best is peach.
Mix all in a blender until
about the consistancy of thick shake or milkshake
dmckee
17 years ago

Yikes — a whole pint of ice cream? Sounds like a velvet-pillow-covered-hammer. You’d get sick before getting drunk on it.
Thanks for the recipe!
M. Vaiden
17 years ago

I have another recipe for a Velvet Hammer!.
1 oz Brandy
1 oz Triple sec
1 oz Dark Rum
1 oz Light cream de cacao
2 to 3 scoops of Coffee Ice Cream
Mix all together until it resembles a thick milkshake.
Enjoy
Jeff
14 years ago

#9 is very similar to what TGI Friday’s used to serve as a Velvet Hammer, and it’s super delish.
I’ve used that but replaced the vodka with Grand Marnier and that’s really good, too.
Much appreciate the site! When Friday’s dropped the drink from their menu, I thought I would never find the recipe.
Hexx
13 years ago

I believe the tgi one has a splash of grenadine too to the #9 recipe

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