And, lo, after chasing all the snakes from Ireland, St. Patrick brought forth booze, and bade his people drink themselves into stereotype history

Cocktails of Note: Special St. Patrick's day Edition

Ah yes, that glorious holiday where Americans use a vaguely religious symbol as an excuse to drink copious amounts of alcohol.  Or, as I like to call it, Thursday.  

In honor of this fine Holiday where everyone is Irish for a day, I present to you three drinks to get you through the day.

1.  Irish Coffee

What better way to start your St. Patrick's Day than with a stimulating coffee...with booze in it.  For those of us who like to get our drink on early, here is an excellent Irish Coffee Recipe.

4 ounces hot coffee
2 ounces Irish Whiskey
2 ounces heavy cream
1 tsp granulated sugar
whip cream to top

Pour the coffee into an Irish Coffee glass.  Add the sugar and stir. (With me so far?)  Add whiskey.  Stir.  Here's the tricky part.  Pour the cream, slowly and carefully over the back of a teaspoon or barspoon, so that it floats on top of the coffee.  This is hard.  It might take a couple of tries.  Then top with whipped cream and a few coffee beans for looks.  Drink.  Enjoy.

When imbibing with this early morning cocktail, I'd recommend listening to one of the greatest bands to come out of Ireland: U2.

This rock band has so many albums spanning almost a quarter century of Rock n'Roll, how do you pick one?  For morning, before you're really ready to rock out for the day, I'd say go with
All That You Can't Leave Behind You.

The Opening Track says it all, Beautiful Day.  It's energizing without desperately trying to get you on your feet.  It's simply life affirming.  Then, when you really need the motivation, Elevation kicks in.  And as you sip your coffee, feel free to think about your life during Kite and In a Little While.  Wonderful melodies about taking life a little slower.

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2. The Black and Tan

Yes, beer can be a cocktail (no, adding green food coloring doesn't count.), and a tasty one at that.

6 ounces of ale
6 ounces of stout


Carefully pour the ale into a Pilsner or Beer Mug, trying not raise too much head (I'll wait for snickering at the word "head" to die down, the I'll say "really?").  In other words, tilt the glass.  Then, slowly pour the stout into the ale.  Wow it floats.

A fine traditional recipe would be Smithwicks for your ale and Guinness for  the stout.  If you want to be more American, I recommend Alaskan Amber Ale and Black Butte Porter.


Two or three of these with a fine Irish Stew is highly recommended.


For your listening pleasure I present my favorite Irish "folk" drinking band:  Gaelic Storm and their album What's the Rumpus?  

This band is not only musically talented, but jumps between humorous drinking songs (Darcy's Donkey) and beautifully human love songs with genuine ache (Human to a God).  


My personal favorite ditty is in the video below (someone has way to much time on their hands.)

Awesome.

3. The Shamrock Martini



This is bar-none the hardest choice.  Many people (Matt, I'm talking to you) will hate me for contaminating their precious whiskey (Sorry Dad), but this is about cocktails, and as I'm a martini lover I had to mention this minty, smoky drink.  Plus, could I really do a St. Patrick's day post without adding something green?


2 ounces Irish Whiskey
1 ounce Dry Vermouth (or less)
1 teaspoon Green Creme de Menthe


Put all the ingredients in a martini shaker with cubed ice.  Shake for 30 seconds.  Pour into a martini glass and enjoy.  (Warning:  Not for everyone.  Very strong.)


For those of you who are more purists, I give you my grandfather's cocktail...

The Old Fashioned


1 sugar cube (very important that it's a cube)
3-5 dashes of bitters
1 teaspoon waters
3 ounces whiskey
1 orange slice
1 maraschino cherry
ice cubes


In an old fashion glass muddle the bitters and water into the sugar cube.  (I recommend a good wooden muddler, but the back of a spoon will work fine.)  Almost fill the glass with ice cubes and add the whiskey.  Stir a bit.  Garnish with the orange slice and the cherry.

Now this is a drinking album, by a great non-Irish, Irish band: Flogging Molly.    Their album Drunken Lullabies is easily the best rockin' Irish-punk-folk-drinking compilation of songs you might ever hear (sorry Dropkick Murphys).  This album starts off strong and never stops.  It takes the occasional step back to let you catch your breath (If I Ever Leave This World Alive), but if you don't feel Irish after listening to What's Left of the Flag or Rare Ould Times there is something wrong with you.

Happy St. Patrick's Day.


Thanks for Drinking,


The Giant