St. Patrick’s Day cocktails don’t need to be green to be good, though it never hurts to have a few emerald-hued beverages in your arsenal for that me-too order and Instagram feed. Here are 10 drink recipes to shake up your celebration leading up to the March 17 holiday, from fresh and vegetal to creamy and decadent.
Laying Boots
2 oz. Blue Clover vodka
¾ oz. Fresh pineapple juice
½ oz. Orange liqueur
½ oz. House-made agave liqueur
½ oz. House-made ginger liqueur
Add all ingredients into a shaker with a bit of green food coloring and shake. Pour over ice.
The mixologists at Blue Clover created this recipe.
County Clare Cooler
(shown atop)
2 oz. Knappogue Castle 12 Year Old Single Malt Irish whiskey
¾ oz. Unfiltered apple cider
¾ oz. Lemon juice
½ oz. Wildflower honey syrup (2 parts honey:1 part water)
¼ oz. Benedictine
1 oz. Ginger beer
Add ginger beer to bottom of rocks glass with cylinder ice. Shake and strain remaining ingredients. Garnish with fanned apple slices.
Joaquín Simó of Pouring Ribbons in New York created this recipe.
Luck of the Orchard
4 oz. Angry Orchard Crisp Apple cider
1 oz. Vodka
½ oz. Creme de menthe
¼ oz. Lemon juice
Shake and strain over ice in a rocks glass. Top with cider and garnish with a mint sprig.
The mixologists at Angry Orchard created this recipe.
Green Mary
1 ¼ oz. Ketel One vodka
3 ½ oz. Freshly juiced equal parts of celery and cucumber
¾ oz. Freshly squeezed lime
1 pinch of rock salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and dried chili flakes
Half a vanilla pod
Add all ingredients to the glass, stir well, add ice, garnish with a salted cucumber slice and vanilla pod.
The mixologists at Ketel Onecreated this recipe.
St. Paddy’s Spritzer
2 oz. Smirnoff Cucumber-Lime Zero Sugar Infusions vodka
1 oz. Cucumber puree
1 oz. Brewed green tea
1 oz. Bottled sparkling water
1 Lime wheel
1 Cucumber wheel
In a cocktail stirring pitcher, combine the vodka, cucumber puree, brewed green tea and sparkling water. Pour over ice. Garnish with fresh lime and cucumber.
The mixologists at Smirnoffcreated this recipe.
Ice Cream Irish Coffee
1 ½ parts Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whiskey
4 parts Espresso coffee (cold)
2 parts Kahlua
2 scoops Van Leeuwen’s Irish Cream made with Tullamore D.E.W.
Build liquid ingredients in glass over ice and stir. Finish with 2 scoops of the ice cream.
The mixologists at Tullamore D.E.W. created this recipe.
Irishman Cold Brew
1 ½ oz. Bushmills Irish whiskey
1 oz. Cream
¾ oz. Mr. Black cold brew liqueur
¾ oz. Bailey’s Irish Cream
Combine all ingredients. Shake and serve on the rocks
Recipe courtesy of Parker & Quinn in New York.
Midori Sour
1 oz. Gin
1 oz. Midori
¾ oz. Lime juice
¾ oz. Aquafaba
½ oz. Lime oleo-saccharum
Combine all ingredients into a tin with ice and shake. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
Cameron Shaw, bar specialist at Lot 15 in New York, created this recipe.
The Spiked Irishman
6 oz. Truly Hard Seltzer Lime
¾ oz. Light agave nectar
¾ oz. Aloe vera water
1 Lime wedge
5 Mint leaves
4 Cucumber wheels
Pinch sea salt
In a mixing glass, add sea salt, cucumber, lime, mint and agave. Muddle gently, then add aloe vera water. Cover with ice and shake. Then add hard seltzer. Strain into an iced 14-oz. cooler glass. Garnish with cucumber and mint.
The mixologists at Truly created this recipe.
Green Gardens
1 ¾ oz. Humboldt’s Finest vodka
¼ oz. Green Chartreuse
¾ oz. Fresh-squeezed lime juice
½ oz. Simple syrup
¼ of a small yellow bell pepper
Fresh oregano (3 leaves plus 1 stem for garnish)
Add 1 heaping tbsp. of chopped pepper to shaker, muddle well, add 3 slightly smashed (use fingers, to release oils) oregano leaves, vodka, green Chartreuse, lime and simple syrup. Add ice and shake vigorously, strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with oregano sprig and cut pepper wedge.
The mixologists at Humboldt’s created this recipe.
Melissa Dowling is editor of Cheers magazine, our on-premise sister publication. Read her recent story, Rum Adventure: Everything You Need to Know About Mount Gay.
You missed the best one. Take a vodka screwdriver, tip in a half shot of Blue Curaçao and stir. Watch the magic as the drink turns a vivid Kelly Green. Takes you back to grade school when you learned about primary colors, and the curaçao enhances the orange flavor. Plus, the ingredients are cheap and readily available, requires no special glassware or preparation, and amazes the bar patrons!