Bartenders explain what ordering an ‘Angel Shot’ really means

With TikTok sharing ideas great, small, essential and crap at an incalculable rate of knots, you might expect an ‘Angel Shot’ to be the latest boozy treat doing the rounds on the worryingly addictive video platform.

It turns out that there’s a decidedly less inane and considerably more wholesome quality to the ‘Angel Shot’ than you might assume.

And, as it turns out, it’s not an alcoholic drink at all.

Unfortunately, it’s a pretty spooky world out there, especially where meeting strangers is concerned.

Someone who seemed sweet, charming and pleasant when you matched on a dating app might turn out to be quite the opposite when you finally meet for that drink, and the vibes might be so off that you worry about leaving your drink unattended.

Perhaps that person who struck up a conversation with you in the smoking area has become an inescapable shadow who won’t take no for an answer.

It’s scenarios like that which spurred the ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign in the UK. The initiative was named after Angela Crompton, who was murdered by her husband.

Essentially, it’s a safe word for people who are concerned they might be in an unsafe situation whilst out for drinks. By ‘asking for Angela’, they can alert bar staff to their discomfort and, hopefully, get some help with it.

The ‘Angel Shot’ is essentially a synonym for ‘Angela’ and is more typically used in the US.

Sadly, the ‘ask for Angela’ scheme hasn’t been as effective as hoped. In late 2024, the BBC exposed the extent to which asking for Angela results in any helpful action being taken, with the rate being pretty insubstantial.

Inadequate staff training and even a failure to implement the scheme at all were evident at some venues, although others were exemplary in their responses to being asked for Angela by undercover reporters.

With the ‘Angel Shot’ being a stand-in for asking for Angela, TikTokers have been posting videos of the process that follows ordering one at a bar.

Some are concerned that this kind of coverage dampens the efficacy of the initiative, as a wrong’un may twig to what’s going on when whoever they’re making uncomfortable orders an Angel Shot.

A bartender writing on Reddit said the phrase is 'well-known in the bar industry'.

"Some bars even put signs in the bathroom stalls indicating this for customers so that they can be aware as many customers are not aware of this code,” they said.

"Of course, sometimes customers do not need to use this code to get the point across that they are dealing with a stalker or creep: sometimes we as bartenders can see it and can intervene or the customer will be straightforward and explicitly tell us / ask for help without using the Angel Shot request."

They added that they had witnessed a situation in which the human cause for concern was well-aware of what an Angel Shot was, and things escalated.

"I had this request from a young woman who was a bit drunk and the guy was right there next to her and he KNEW what an Angel Shot was,” they said.

"He got really mad, tried to explain the whole situation away so that I did not react but I acted like I thought she had said Angels Envy shot and told her that she should follow me to the other bar to get it as I did not have it at my bar."

They added: "The girl followed me into the security tent but the guy took off. She was terrified but security handled it and all was good.”