St Patrick’s Day Cocktail Recipe
A vibrant green cocktail perfect for St Patrick’s day with a shamrock garnish.
What Makes a St Patrick’s Day Cocktail
To achieve the perfect St Patricks day cocktail, you’ll need to hit 1 of 3 things;
Make it green
Give it Irish Ingredients
Give it an Irish name
It really is that simple. Think of all the bars selling green lager on St Patrick’s Day. Is that lager Irish? Nope, is it made with Irish ingredients? Nope. But its green, which even though my personally opinion is that green lager is gross, it sells!
So pick one of those things and whip up a cocktail then hey presto, you have a St Patricks day cocktail. This one in particular focuses more on the green aspect.
Bright Green Cocktail
In order to make a cocktail bright green you can do a few things, the easiest is to add green food coloring or dye. It won’t have a taste but it’ll instantly make your cocktail green. However, for my green drinks I prefer to use green ingredients to achieve that look.
The 2 most popular green drinks when it comes to cocktails are Midori, which is a melon liqueur, and Creme de Menthe, which is a mint liqueur and is what we will be using for this cocktail.
What to drink for St Patrick’s Day
Now after you’ve made this cocktail you may want some other St Patrick’s day drinks. So here’s what you should be drinking.
Irish Whisky
Irish Whisky such as Jamesons is an absolute must for St Patrick’s Day. Check out this guide for the best Irish whisky’s and everything you need to know to look like a pro ordering it at a bar.
Baileys
The Christmas classic and original Irish cream. If you don’t like Whisky, your next option will be a cold Baileys on ice for St Patrick’s Day. Or any one of these Baileys drinks that are easy to make at home.
Guinness
If you’re a beer drinker then please stay away from the green colored lager and stick to the black stuff - Guinness.
Baby Guinness
We also must remember this is a party. So with that being said, What is the best shot for St Patrick's Day? The answer - The Baby Guinness.
The Irish Flag Shot
Once you’ve nailed the Baby Guinness, you’ll be ready for the ultimate layered shot - The Irish flag shot.
Lucky Lyre - Non Alcoholic St Patrick’s Day Mocktail
For those of you not drinking but still wanting to celebrate St Patrick’s day with a cocktail (or mocktail) then I’ve got you. This cocktail also comes in a non-alcoholic version I’m calling the Lucky Lyre. For this, keep the recipe the same but swap the creme de menthe and gin for Lyres Absinthe.
The Shamrock Garnish
One of the stars of this cocktail really is that shamrock 4 leaf clover garnish. To do this, pick up some pea shoots. Pull 4 pea shoot leaves apart and using a mini peg, clip them to the side of your glass and arrange them to look like a 4 leaf clover.
It can be a little fiddly at first, but bare with. Once you get it once you’ll be able to do it 100 times.
How to make the orange sugar
Zest an orange and combine equal parts orange and caster sugar on a small plate or saucer.
The St Patrick’s Day Cocktail Recipe
St Patrick's Day Cocktail
Ingredients
Instructions
- Shake everything with ice.
- Rim an ice cold stemmed glass straight from the freezer with a lemon wedge and the orange sugar.(see notes)
- Strain your cocktail into the orange sugar rimmed glass.
- Garnish by taking 4 pea shoot leaves and pegging them on the side of the glass into the shape of a 4 leaf clover - extra points for orange pegs.
Notes
For the orange sugar
Zest an orange and combine equal parts orange zest and caster sugar on a small plate or saucer. This is your orange sugar.
For the non-alcoholic version
Replace the creme de menthe and gin with Lyres absinthe.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
124.32Fat
0.11 gSat. Fat
0.01 gCarbs
10.86 gFiber
0.09 gNet carbs
10.77 gSugar
6.61 gProtein
0.1 gSodium
1.27 mgCholesterol
0 mgThe nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
More non-alc cocktail recipes
Enjoy the quintessential British summer drink without the alcohol! This Non-Alcoholic Pimm's Cup is a refreshing blend of strawberries mixed with lemonade and a touch of balsamic vinegar. Perfect for any garden party or tennis watch party.