The mad scientists at Nick Drink’s put together 2 original cocktails and 1 classic for the drinking holiday known as St. Patrick’s Day. Please let us know if you try any of them and give your feedback.

Shamrock or Clover is not native to Ireland but has been a symbol of theirs for years. I thought it would be fun to try juicing clover and mixing it into a cocktail. After juicing two giant plants I purchased from Westborn Market, I got maybe an ounce. The juice was incredibly tart and may even be toxic. While clover is safe to eat, large amounts of Oxalic acid can be poisonous. Use caution with this drink. The juiced clover was a great substitute for lemon juice so I made a play on a whiskey sour.

Clover Danger

2 oz Irish Whiskey (I used Bushmill’s)
1/2 oz Honey Simple Syrup
1/4 oz Clover Juice
1 egg white (optional)
2 dashes Angostura Bitters (optional)

The drink with just Irish Whiskey, Honey Simple Syrup and Clover juice is great. For the photo, I wanted to float a Shamrock on it and added the egg. It took a lot of the pop of flavor out but made the mouth feel real smooth. A few dashes of bitters brightened up the taste. If you do add the egg, combine all the ingredients in an empty shaker and shake with ice first. Then add ice and shake again. This is called a dry shake and helps combine the egg with the cocktail.

I love layered cocktails. They are a bit of a cop out but I’ll take it. When building floating drinks the densest ingredient should be at the bottom. This is likely the ingredient with the most sugar. You float ingredients by slowly pouring over the back of a bar spoon. It takes some practice but you get better at it. I’m…ok.

Eerie Eire Flag

1 oz Midori
1 oz mellow Gin (I used Aviation)
1 oz fresh squeezed Orange Juice

Start with the Midori then add the gin then top with OJ. Unfortunately, the Irish flag is not in that order. I attempted to correct that with different mixes and layering techniques but to no success. I leave this up to a smarter bartender than I. Mixed together these ingredients are really tasty. Separate, they are less tasty. I would recommend a brief stir before you drink.

One of the great classic “Irish” cocktails is the Irish Coffee. My wife picked up this amazing mug at a vintage store and I had to make the classic drink.

Irish Coffee

1-2 oz of Irish Whiskey (I used Jameson’s)
3-6 oz of Strong Black Hot Coffee
1-2 oz of Sweetened Homemade Whipped Cream

The traditional way to drink an Irish Coffee is to not mix the cream and the liquid. You drink through the cream. This creates a cool tingle on your lips from the cream and a hot rush from the coffee and booze. It’s a tasty after dinner treat. Depending on the size of your mug (the above one is pretty small), add 1-2 oz of Irish Whiskey then top with hot coffee. Leave about 3/4 inch of room for cream. Place a dollop of fresh whipped cream on top (place cream and a shot of sugar or simple syrup then whip with an automatic egg beater or whisk. Go for stiff peaks.)

I hope everyone has a safe and fun St. Patrick’s Day next week. Budmo!