March 17 is arguably one of the best days of the year.
It’s the day that we wear green and pretend to be Irish. But, more importantly, it’s one of the few days that drinking is all but encouraged.
When you go out for the St. Patty’s Day festivities, you’re going to be tempted to grab a Guinness, a car bomb, or be foolish enough to drink a Bud with green food coloring in it.
But, we’ve got seven drinks that are not only better than Guinness, but will show everyone around that you’ve got a brain inside of that lump between your shoulders. Who knows, it could actually pay off too. Maybe a hot Irish maiden will be so impressed with your knowledge of the Emerald Isle, that you’ll be getting into her pot of gold.
No more yapping, more drinking.
Cheers.
7. Irish Coffee
While not utterly original, alcohol in hot drinks had been around Europe for a bit, Irish Coffee has become a new favorite in Eire.
The drink became famous during World War II, 1942 to be exact, by Chef Jim Sheridan to warm up passengers. It’s a simple mixture of coffee, Irish whiskey and thick cream that you pour over the back of a spoon for a layer.
Make sure that it’s not shaken or stirred. Also, remember that you use the right amount of whiskey and coffee for a drink to make you go all St. Patty’s Day.
6. Cider
This could be considered more of a winter, or even girly, drink if served hot. However, cider, which is drank out of a pint glass, is also served cold.
You can make it yourself, or buy a popular already made brand like Bulmers, or Magners.
5. Mead
This is said to be the oldest alcoholic drink known to man.
It was discovered thousands of years ago by, believe it or, Monks as the by-product of honey production. Mead was also mentioned in the classic Beowulf as the victory drink of Celtic warriors.
If you are unable to order this at a bar, you could always whip a batch of your own.
4. Potin
Also known as Poteen, Mountain Dew and Mountain Tea, it was brewed in the Irish mountains, and, was so potent that it was illegal. It’s kind of like our grain alcohol.
It may be legal nowadays, but drinker be warned, consume with caution. This drink packs a heavy punch.
Like mead and cider, you can make this from scrap.
3. Beers
If you wanna stick with good old fashioned beer for St. Patrick’s day, there are several Irish choices other than Guinness.
One of the more popular ales is Smithwick’s (pronounced Smid-icks ). If this Guinness-produced ale isn’t your cup of tea, you could give Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale or Kinsale Irish Lager a try.
2. Stouts
This deserved their own section, because of their popularity in Ireland. There are actually three classic stouts: Guinness (obviously), Murphy’s and Beamish, known as the Blessed Trinity.
More recently, O’ Hara’s Irish Stout has been making their mark as well.
These roasty stouts, or a meal in a can if you will, are 100 % authentic Irish, and are good for your health too. So, make sure you order up a round of these stouts instead of the one by Arthur.
1. Whiskey
Getting it’s name from the old Gaelic term uisce beatha, roughly translated to “water of life”, there’s no denying that the Irish love their whiskey.
While most of us are aware of the popular Jameson brand, there’s also Paddy’s, Tullamore Dew, Powers and Old Bushmills.
It’s believed that whiskey was introduced to Ireland through the monasteries, but instead of using an Arabic formula of making perfume, the Irish went the drinking method. Although Monks were supposed to use it for healing purposes.
There’s another folklore that St. Patrick himself showed the Irish how to distill spirits, hence, St. Patrick is the patron of whiskey.
By the 15th century, whiskey was intoxicating so much of the Irish population, that the Irish Parliament instituted an act that made it illegal to distill it without a license.
There’s absolutely no substitute for a good Irish whiskey, mainly because it’s distilled three times.
If you’re not man enough to drink whiskey on the rocks, or straight up, tell the barkeep you want a Black Nail, which is just Bushmills and Irish Mist, or a Hot Toddy, which is essentially whiskey in hot tea, that not only tastes good, but is a great remedy for a cold of the flu.
Albert Costill
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I celebrated St Patricks Day in London this year at Waxy O'Connors near Piccadiily Station – probably the best place I have ever spent it! Waxy's is massive and the crowd was crazy