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Spirits of St. Patrick
hub presents a variety of classic St. Patrick's Day cocktails
By Peter Lynn
St. Patrick's Day approaches, and will give many of us opportunity to forget the also-approaching onset of maturity. As we gain in years, however, the green beer associated with the Irish holiday loses something of its sophistication. And so, we present you with some selected cocktails ideal for the occasion. One caveat: there's not a green or minty drink in the bunch; if that's what you crave, McDonald's still has Shamrock Shakes.
Blarney
The world famous Blarney Stone is thought to be half of the Stone of Scone, the powerful totem over which Scottish kings were crowned. One of these kings, Robert the Bruce, awarded the Stone in 1314 to Cormac McCarthy for services rendered in the Battle of Bannockburn. When Elizabeth I demanded fealty from the Irish chiefs, Lord of Blarney Cormac Teige McCarthy used subtle diplomacy to grip the Queen's requests without compromising his independence, spurring Elizabeth to declare that he was giving her "a lot of Blarney."
Legend holds that you, too, can gain the power of eloquence by kissing the stone. Or, you can simply knock back a few of this eponymously-named drink.
Stir ingredients with cracked ice; strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon, cherry, and orange. |  |
Mike Collins
It is impossible to discuss the heroes of Ireland without mentioning Michael Collins, the controversial "Lion of Ireland" who led the IRA against British rule and founded the free Republic of Eire in 1921. His dreams inspired hope. His words inspired passion. His courage forged a nation's destiny. His legend inspired a Liam Neeson movie and this well-respected member of the Collins family of cocktails.
Shake ingredients with cracked ice; strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. As an East Coast imbiber, top with soda and garnish with a cherry and orange wheel. |  |
Ward Eight
Another great Irish politician, another great Irish cocktail. The son of immigrants, Martin Lomasney – known as the "Boston Mahatma" – invoked the name of Ireland to raise himself from shoeshine boy to one of the most powerful politicians in that city's history. The night before his 1898 election as representative in the Massachusetts General Court from Ward Eight, a group of his supporters gathered at the Locke-Ober Café and asked bartender Tom Hussion to invent a new beverage to toast certain victory. Hussion, knowing his patrons' sedate tastes, simply added a teaspoon of grenadine to a whiskey sour, using bourbon, the most American of whiskeys.
It was a touch of genius, for the grenadine softened the bourbon's bite and allowed the Ward Eight (which also became known as the Scottish Guard's Cocktail) to survive the Prohibition ironically championed by Lomasney to be honoured as one of Esquire's 10 best cocktails of 1934, and to finally arrive in the new millennium, its classic recipe unaltered by meddling bartenders of three different centuries.
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Shake with cracked ice; strain into chilled cocktail glass. |  |
Irish Coffee
The old saying holds that if March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion. Consequently, after attending a chilly St. Patrick's Day parade, one might find oneself in need of a nice hot beverage. Fortunately, the great cocktail writer Charles H. Baker claimed that "taken sanely and in moderation whisky is beneficial, aids digestion, helps throw off colds, megrims, and influenzas." More recent studies at the University of Texas hold that Irish coffee may well be the best drug for treating stroke damage. So why not ward off trouble before it begins with this delicious beverage?
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Coat the rim of a coffee glass by rubbing the rim of the glass with a lemon slice then dipping it into a shallow bowl of fine or powdered sugar. Fill the glass with hot water until hot to touch. Add sugar and coffee to glass; stir or muddle to melt sugar. Add whiskey, and float the whipped cream of honey-like consistency on top of drink. Add a warm, spicy finish with a dusting of cinnamon or nutmeg. Serve without a straw or stirrer. |  |
You'll note that Irish whiskey is a base in the majority of these cocktails, and so a word on that spirit is appropriate. That word is uisgebeatha, Gaelic for "water of life," and is the source of the word "whiskey" (the Irish favour the "ey" spelling). Heavier than Scotch, it is usually 86 proof. The malt, composed of half-sprouted barley with oats, is dried in a closed, coal-fired kiln, eliminating smoky flavor. Although we mix it here, it's generally best enjoyed neat, with water, or on the rocks, so that you may savour the flavour of the ice long after the whiskey itself is gone.