What Is a Shotski? How a Round on the Board Works

Four glasses on a board, four people in a row, one person counts down, and everyone drinks at the same moment. What is a shotski? Exactly that: a Shotski (a ski with several shot glasses mounted on it) turns one drink into a round you share. In Advent 2026 you can try a round like this with us at the Salzburg Christmas market at Mirabellplatz (Mirabell Square), at the Apres Allstars stall.

What is a shotski? A Shotski, also written shot ski, is a ski or a long board with several shot glasses fixed to it in a row. Several people stand side by side, lift the board together and drink their glasses at the same time.

You’ll find the other huts at Mirabellplatz further down.

How is a Shotski built?

A Shotski has two parts: a long, flat base and several glasses that sit firmly on it. Originally the base was an old downhill ski; today it’s often a purpose-built wooden board.

According to the drinks magazine VinePair, a Shotski usually holds three, four or five glasses. They’re evenly spaced side by side, so that everyone has their own glass in front of them. How the glasses are held varies from board to board:

• Glued on: the simplest version, an old ski with the glasses glued in place.
• Screwed on or in holders: the glasses sit in clips or mounts rather than being fixed into the wood.
• Clicked in: the glasses snap into a holder, for example a small ski binding, as on the Apres Allstars Shotski further down.

How does a shotski round work?

A round has four steps: line up, pour, lift, tip together. The last one is what matters, because everyone has to drink at the same moment.

1. Line up: everyone stands side by side, each person in front of their own glass. The board is still lying flat on the table or the counter.
2. Pour: the glasses are filled while the board lies still.
3. Lift and call: everyone takes hold of the board and lifts it, level, to mouth height. One person gives the call, for example a loud countdown from three.
4. Drink and tip: on the call, everyone puts their lips to the glass and tips the board together.

If someone tips too early or too late, something gets spilled. As VinePair puts it: whoever doesn’t go along with the others ends up with schnapps in their face.

Two small tips from experience: line up so that nobody has to stoop or stand on tiptoe, and keep the board level until the call comes.

Where does the shotski come from?

Nobody knows for sure who invented the Shotski. All that’s clear is that it comes from ski culture, where old skis get a second life as a drinking board after their last winter.

That fits the origin stories collected by the US magazine Punch: some say the ski team of the University of British Columbia in Canada invented it, others credit miners in Park City, Utah, others ski resorts in the Alps. Punch itself thinks the Alps are the most likely origin, because that’s where après-ski culture is at home. According to Punch, the word “après-ski” first appeared in a French ski magazine in 1938. In Austria the board is said to have been called “Schnappski”, with the glasses simply standing on top. Neither Punch nor VinePair found proof for any of these stories.

What is documented is how the custom became a product. According to Punch, Dave Paulick saw a Shotski with glued-on glasses at the Big Powderhorn Mountain ski area in Michigan and in 2005 founded a company in Wisconsin that built Shotskis with metal holders. Since then, Punch says, Shotskis have turned up in many bars and restaurants.

Breckenridge in Colorado shows how long a Shotski can get: at the Ullr Fest there, they try every year to set up the longest Shotski. In 2014, according to VinePair, it was 219 skis, with 666 people drinking a shot at the same time.

What kinds of Shotski are there?

From an old ski to a modular kit, the round stays the same:

• The classic: an old downhill ski with three to five glasses.
• The water ski: by lakes, according to Punch, water skis get used too.
• The wooden board: purpose-built, with hollows or holders for the glasses.
• Modular Shotskis: individual modules that slot together, as many as there are people drinking.

The Apres Allstars Shotski

At our market at Mirabellplatz there’s a stall that has developed the Shotski further itself: Apres Allstars, run by Tobi Deckert and Michi Gasteiger from Siegsdorf in the Chiemgau (the Chiemsee area). A note on our own behalf: Tobi Deckert also writes for this blog. According to their exhibitor page, the two always used to bring a Shotski to birthdays and weddings, glasses glued onto an old ski. At the ISPO sports trade fair in 2020 they had a 3D-printed Shotski with them to draw people to their stand. That grew into a modular system of glass, binding and modules.

Their Shotski is called the SwigSki3000. According to the Apres Allstars product page, it’s built like this:

• Wood and modules: the modules are made of pine and click together with a snap fastening. The basic set has four modules, and each extension adds two more.
• Glasses shaped like ski boots: instead of ordinary shot glasses, 4 cl (40 ml) glasses in the shape of a ski boot sit on the board. They click into a small ski binding. Our article on the ski boot shot glass tells you more about the glass.
• To wear around your neck: with an eye screw, a single module, glass included, can be worn on a cord around your neck.

According to their own website, Tobi and Michi developed the SwigSki3000 together with their community, financed through a Kickstarter campaign in summer 2023. The sets are put together in workshops for people with disabilities, which we write about in Pidinger Werkstätten: who assembles the ski boot shot glasses by hand. Who the two of them are is on the Apres Allstars About us page.

Try the Shotski at our market at Mirabellplatz

At the Apres Allstars stall at our market at Mirabellplatz you can have a go on the Shotski. Our market is open daily from 19 November to 31 December 2026, and entry is free.

Because a Shotski needs several people, it’s best to come with friends, family or colleagues. What the après-ski feeling is like in the middle of the city, and what else you can combine it with at the market, is in Après-ski in the middle of Salzburg. If you’re looking for a present for someone who loves being on the slopes, take a look at Gifts for skiers.

Drinking responsibly and the drinking age

At the Shotski you’re drinking schnapps, and in time with everyone else. Join in for only as many rounds as you want, and have some water or something warm without alcohol in between. Nobody has to drink to be part of it.

In the province of Salzburg, young people may only buy and drink drinks containing distilled spirits, in other words schnapps, including in mixed drinks, from the age of 18. Other alcoholic drinks such as beer or wine are allowed from 16. For children and teenagers, several huts serve Kinderpunsch (alcohol-free punch for children). What makes it different from Glühwein (hot mulled wine, spiced with cinnamon, cloves and orange) is explained in Glühwein, Glühmost, Punsch, Kinderpunsch: what’s the difference?.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Retrieved on 30 October 2026: Punch, Aaron Goldfarb, “Who Invented the Shotski and Why?” (3 June 2016) · VinePair, Nick Hines, “History of the Shotski” (27 January 2017) · Apres Allstars, product page “SwigSki3000 modular wooden Shotski” and “About us” page (apres-allstars.com) · oesterreich.gv.at, youth protection: alcohol, tobacco and other nicotine products, Salzburg section (as of 12 August 2024) · information from Tobi Deckert (Apres Allstars), 30 October 2026 · our Apres Allstars exhibitor page and Opening hours and directions