This Yellow Hammer drink recipe is a popular Alabama football game day cocktail everyone loves. These fruity cocktails are not only great for tailgating and football parties, you'll love this tasty adult beverage all year.
Jump to:
About the Yellow Hammer Cocktail
If you're in need of a crowd-pleasing adult beverage, this Yellow Hammer drink is the answer to your prayers. Perfect for game days, tailgates, and football parties.
I make them multiple times a year, and everyone raves about them!
Pineapple juice, orange juice, and a few bottles of liquor are all you need.
Honestly, I keep the ingredients on hand for the entire football season in case I need a fun drink to bring or serve because they are so easy to throw together.
Or make them in the summer, not just for fall days! They are a great porch-sitting, boat-riding, beach-relaxing citrusy cocktail.
Served with cream cheese stuffed peppers, sliders, or your favorite appetizer, these are always a hit.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
In case you were wondering, your recipe is really close, I used to work there. We use light rum and dark rum instead of light rum and vodka. Just incase you wanted more like the real thing! ROLLTIDE!
- Victoria
What is a Yellow Hammer Drink
A yellow hammer is the Alabama state bird, and it's the unofficial cocktail of Alabama game days.
Yellow Hammer cocktails are like a snazzier (but almost as easy) screwdriver with a little extra pizzazz thanks to the pineapple juice and amaretto.
When I was a student at the University of Alabama, we'd enjoy these at a bar right around the corner from Bryant-Denny Stadium: Gallettes. They served them in bright yellow cups, and they were a game day fan favorite.
While I don't know the exact recipe for this iconic cocktail of the SEC, everyone who tries my Yellow Hammer recipe loves them. And this is coming from friends who enjoyed them every home game for 4+ years.
One very important thing to note: This drink is NOT called an Alabama Yellow Hammer Slammer.
I don't know what a "yellowhammer slammer" is... and you're not going to find an authentic yellow hammer slammer because that's not a thing.
The famous Alabama cocktail from the iconic Tuscaloosa bar is simply called a Yellow Hammer.
But even if you're not an Alabama fan, I can all but guarantee that you will enjoy these.
Ingredients
Vodka: As with any cocktail, it's best to use high quality spirits. While you can get away with using a slightly lower quality vodka (because the juice and amaretto liqueur mask the vodka flavor), I don't recommend it. I feel like it's worth it to spend a few extra dollars on a nicer vodka to not have a hangover, but that's my personal preference.
An alternative to vodka is to use light rum in its place if you prefer to only use one type of alcohol.
Using vodka and rum keeps the yellowhammer drink from being too sweet in my opinion, but it is totally a personal preference. Feel free to experiment and find what you like best.
Rum: I use light rum, but dark rum also works well.
Amaretto: Amaretto is a sweet Italian liqueur that has an almond flavor. It's intensely sweet, so you definitely don't need to add sugar to this recipe.
Pineapple Juice: Be sure to use 100% juice, so this isn't overly sugary sweet. Plus, you get some vitamins in those 100% fruit juices. Hooray!
Orange Juice: Like the pineapple juice, use 100% juice. It doesn't matter if you use fresh squeezed, pulp, no pulp, etc. Pick one you like, and use that.
Cherries: The cherry is technically optional, but I'm a huge fan of adding a cherry on top of my yellow hammer drink.
Recipe Cost
- Vodka 4 ounces: $2.72
- Rum 4 ounces: $2.72
- Amaretto 4 ounces: $2.72
- Water 2-4 ounces: $0
- Pineapple Juice 18 ounces: $1.62
- Orange Juice 12 ounces: $0.84
TOTAL COST: $10.62 or $1.33/serving (New York City prices 2025)
Note that this is not the recipe; it's simply to show the cost breakdown of ingredients. Scroll down to the full recipe to see the specific ingredients and directions.
How to Make a Yellow Hammer Drink
- Step 1: Pour vodka, rum, and amaretto into a pitcher.
- Step 2: Add water, pineapple juice, and orange juice.
- Step 3: Stir together.
- Step 4: When ready to serve, pour over ice. Enjoy!
Top Tip
This Yellow Hammer drink recipe is sweet but very strong. Taste and adjust as needed, but remember that you won't get a super intense alcohol flavor.
Recipe Tips
These drinks are so simple that I don't really have tips. The only thing I'd stress is that you taste them before serving. Everyone has different taste preferences, so you might decide you'd like more orange juice or a touch more rum.
Remember that you will be serving them over ice which will likely dilute the Yellow Hammer drink a bit (especially if it's a hot day and the ice will melt quickly). However, feel free to add a little more water to your yellowhammers as needed.
How to Fix a Mistake
These Yellow Hammer drinks are so simple and almost impossible to mess up.
- If you add too much orange juice, add a little extra pineapple juice, water or vodka. Same with pretty much any of the ingredients.
- If it's too sweet, add more vodka.
- If it's not sweet enough, add more juice, amaretto or rum.
Basically, play around with the ingredients until it tastes just right to your preferences.
Make-Ahead Ideas
Yellow Hammers are great to make ahead of time because they keep well in the fridge. Simply stir everything together and store in an airtight container for later use.
You can also increase the yellowhammer recipe to serve an even larger crowd.
Storage Suggestions
These keep for up to one week in a glass container in the fridge. Stir or shake well before serving.
Variations
Ingredient Options
Alcohol: As mentioned above, if you would rather use only one top of liquor, use light and dark rum instead of vodka and rum.
How to Make Allergy-Friendly
These yellow hammers are naturally gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and soy free.
Amaretto is potentially problematic for those with a nut, tree nut or apricot allergy (and most sources do not give a definitive answer on whether or not it is safe). As with any recipe, be sure to check labels and consult with your doctor or allergist before consuming.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, a Yellow Hammer drink is different from an Alabama Slammer drink. The Yellow Hammer has rum, amaretto and vodka (some versions use light and dark rum with no vodka). And an Alabama Slammer has whiskey, sloe gin and amaretto. Both are served with cherries.
How to Make Only 1 Yellowhammer Cocktail
The ratio for Yellow Hammer drinks is
- 2 parts OJ
- 4 parts pineapple juice
- 1 part vodka
- (a generous) 1 part rum
- 1 part amaretto
You can stir it all together in a cup, or fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes and shake for a fancier preparation. That being said, Alabama (and especially Gallettes when I was going there every weekend), isn't known for being fancy. So I recommend just stirring it all together in a cup and enjoying your yellow hammer cocktail.
These ratios and the recipe below are mainly guidelines. I think it is important to taste it, then add a little extra juice if you want or add in some rum or vodka or amaretto. The amaretto is pretty sweet, so add in small amounts.
Nutrition Benefits
Like most alcoholic drinks, the yellow hammer doesn't offer tons of nutrients.
However, using 100% juice gives you an extra dose of Vitamin C, and one serving of these Yellow Hammers gives you almost 30% of your daily needs. Yay for fighting colds while watching football 🙂
This fruity, sweet cocktail has a tasty blend of vodka and rum that's sweetened with amaretto and fruit juices. Served over ice and topped with a cherry, you can hardly taste the alcohol, so be sure to drink these with caution.
What to Serve with Yellow Hammers
You definitely want to eat when you are drinking these! Some of my favorite game day eats include...
Serving Tip
This fruity, sweet cocktail has a tasty blend of vodka and rum that's sweetened with amaretto and fruit juices. Served over ice and topped with a cherry, you can hardly taste the alcohol, so be sure to drink these with caution.
Final thoughts:
After 12 years of making this Yellow Hammer recipe, it continually gets rave reviews. They are simple to make, and they are incredibly delicious.
Plus, there isn't a ton of added sugar (other than in the alcohol), so they don't give you a massive sugar crash.
Be sure to eat something with these though, and drink responsibly. These are strong but don't taste like it!
MORE PITCHER COCKTAIL RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE:
Yellow Hammer Drink
Ingredients
- ½ cup vodka
- ½ cup light rum
- ½ cup amaretto
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 ¼ cups 100% pineapple juice
- 1 ½ cups 100% orange juice
- 6-8 maraschino cherries
Instructions
- Stir together the vodka, rum, amaretto, water, pineapple juice, and orange juice.
- Taste, and add additional juice and/or liquor if desired.
- Pour over ice, and top with a cherry. Enjoy {responsibly}!
Video
Notes
Meme
This post was originally published on September 20, 2013. Text, recipe, and photos have been updated.
Nutrition Facts
P.S. This is for my fellow Alabama fans... Roll tide! and rammer jammer yellow hammer!
I highly suggest bringing a pitch of this yellowhammer drink recipe to any and all Alabama football games or celebrations.
Victoria
In case you were wondering, your recipe is really close, I used to work there. We use light rum and dark rum instead of light rum and vodka. Just incase you wanted more like the real thing! ROLLTIDE!
Meme
Seriously?!?! You just made my day! I'll have to try that next time. Roll tide!!! 🙂
Dell Wilson
Hi y'all
I love the yellowhammers at Gallette's and my wife came across this recipe a while back. For our company picnic last week, I made up a couple of gallons based on your recipe with a couple of mods. We used the dark rum instead of the vodka and we cut all the liquor by 1/3. Also, since we were serving this over ice outside on a hot day, we did not add the water. Everyone who tried it seemed to enjoy it with several requests for the recipe and everyone who has had the original thought it was very close.
Thank you very much for the recipe!
Meme
Thanks Dell!!! I'm so happy everyone enjoyed them! Also, I appreciate you coming back to tell me your thoughts 🙂
Tawnie Kroll
I've never had this drink before, it sounds so tasty!!
Lindsey
I'm going to need this in hand in Feb once I'm not pregnant hahaha
Emily
Girl you know how much I love a good cocktail! This one is SO good, love the generous pour of rum
Liz
I was so intrigued by this and after making it it did not disappoint!
Lorie
First of many times making this. Used to always just do ok and amaretto but this is soooo much better!
Natalie
Oh I could definitely use this on this dreary Monday morning!
Eizabeth
One of my faves AND allergy-friendly! Love this recipe, thank you! RTR
Meme
whoop whoop! Roll tide!