St. Patrick’s Day Drinks

Happy St. Patty’s Day to all! As promised, following are several drinks to help you get in the spirit tonight!

Let’s start off with the crowd pleaser…

This is my version of the famous Irish Crush featured at Looney’s Pub. Any “crush” drink features fruit juice, especially orange juice, and this one is no different!

In a cocktail shaker with ice, add 2 ounces of Jameson whiskey, 1/2 an ounce of blue curaçao, and 4 ounces of orange juice. Shake until combined and then strain into a glass filled with ice. Fill the remainder of the glass with Sprite and serve!

The blue color of the curaçao mixed with the orangey-yellow of the orange juice is what creates the green color. The pigmentation of the blue curaçao is really dense, so that’s why you only need 1/2 an ounce to create the green!

Looney’s Irish Crush

Yield: 1 drink

Ingredients:

2 ounces Jameson whiskey
1/2 ounce blue curaçao
4 ounces orange juice
2-3 ounces Sprite, depending on glass size

Process:

1) Fill a glass with ice and set aside.

2) In a cocktail shaker with ice, mix Jameson, blue curaçao, and orange juice. Strain into prepared glass.

3) Fill remainder of glass with Sprite and serve.

Next up are a couple of shooters that I promise won’t disappoint!

Some shooters are vastly complicated and involve all kinds of mixing and layering, but this one and its counterpart are super easy. For the Irish Sweetie (also known as a caramel apple), just mix 1 ounce of butterscotch schnapps with 1 ounce of apple schnapps.

Its counterpart (not pictured) I refer to as “Liquid Gold.” You still start with 1 ounce of butterscotch schnapps, but then add 1 ounce of Jameson whiskey on top instead of apple schnapps.

Last but not least, for the classiest among you, my version of the famous “Apple-tini” drink.

This one is another cocktail shaker drink. So, fill a shaker with ice and then add 2 ounces of vodka and 2 ounces of apple schnapps. Shake to combine, then strain into a martini glass. Fill the remainder with sprite (maybe 2-3 ounces) and serve!

Apple-tini

Yield: 1 drink

Ingredients:

2 ounces vodka
2 ounces apple schnapps
2-3 ounces Sprite

Process:

1) Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add vodka and apple schnapps and shake to combine.

2) Strain into a martini glass and top with sprite. Serve immediately.

Dirty Shirley

It is with a heavy heart that we all learned of the passing of the beloved Shirley Temple Black this morning. Even though it is not Friday and I’m in the middle of Valentine’s Week posts, I just couldn’t let the day go by without paying my own homage to her by posting a recipe for my version of the classic “Dirty Shirley” drink.

Of course, the classic “Shirley Temple” is non-alcoholic, and was always just a simple mix of ginger-ale and grenadine. I’ve kicked it up a little and switched a thing or two, but it’s still the classic cherry-sweet drink everyone loves!

Fill a rocks glass with ice, then add 1.5 ounces of cherry vodka, 1 ounce cranberry juice, and 1/2 ounce grenadine. Stir to combine. Fill the rest of the glass with Sprite (or another clear soda of choice) and serve. If you’re making more than one, you can also combine the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker to make it easier!

Full Recipe:

Dirty Shirley Cocktail

Yield: 1 cocktail

Ingredients:

1.5 oz cherry vodka
1 oz. cranberry juice
1/2 oz. grenadine
4 oz. (about) of Sprite

Process:

1) Fill a rocks glass with ice and add vodka, cranberry juice, and grenadine. Stir to combine.

2) Fill remainder of glass with Sprite and serve immediately.