St. Patrick’s Day Cocktails

Today is St. Patrick’s Day and I thought I would look at the Old Mr. Boston Official Bartenders Guide from 1935 to see what cocktails might have been served on St. Paddy’s Day, 88 years ago. I found three cocktails of interest. They are:

Irish Whiskey Cocktail

2 Dashes Absinthe

1 Dash Curacao

1 Dash Maraschino

1 Dash Bitters

1 Jigger Irish Whiskey

Stir well with cracked ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Serve with an olive.

Irish Whiskey Highball

To 1 cube of ice, add 1 jigger of Irish Whiskey, fill up with carbonated water or ginger ale. Serve with a small bar spoon in the glass and a piece of lemon peel, if desired. Use 8 oz. Highball glass.

Irish Rickey

Take 1 cube of ice. Juice of ½ or whole lime. 1 Jigger Irish Whiskey. Fill up with carbonated water and serve with small bar spoon in glass. Use 8 oz. Highball glass. Leave lime in the glass.

I was surprised that the Old Mr. Boston Official Bartenders Guide did not include a recipe for Irish Coffee, so I turned to Gary Regan’s The Joy of Mixology for a recipe.

Irish Coffee

2 ounces Irish Whiskey

4 to 5 ounces hot coffee

Simple Syrup to taste

Whipped Cream

Build in an Irish Coffee glass. Float the whipped cream on top.

These are classic cocktails to serve on St. Patrick’s Day – perfect to celebrate the day using Irish Whiskey. Now Bourbon fans might want to substitute a Bourbon for Irish Whiskey in these cocktails. If they do, I suggest a Bourbon with an Irish connection such as Henry McKenna Bonded or even the ten year old bonded McKenna as an appropriate substitution.