Shamrock

The Shamrock cocktail, a name that evokes thoughts of Ireland, and perhaps a minty-quality as well.  Listen, I'm not giving anything away by telling you that this thing is a sweet drink, perhaps too sweet for the comfort of some of the male readership.  But lest we judge too quickly, let's look at its ingredients:

The Ultimate Bar Book, page 368

Shamrock

1 1/2oz  Irish whiskey
3/4oz creme de menthe
2oz heavy cream
Maraschino cherry

Shake the liquid vigorously with ice.  Strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass.  Garnish with the cherry.

The Shamrock tastes like a minty shake, and with a full 2 ounces of heavy cream added to the mix, you'll want to drink these as sparingly as a shake.  It's rich, it's thick, and it's cold. 

I'd be lying if I said I didn't like this drink, it tastes like candy after all.  But, this is a little foo-foo-y.  I'd expect this on some cocktail bar's pictured drink menu called something like an "Irish Mintastic!" or the "Minty Clover!" - something with an exclamation mark at the end of the title.

JB tried it and thought it tasted like an alcoholic Shamrock shake from McDonald's.  Seems fitting to me.

After a few enjoyable sips, I felt like I was drinking nothing but heavy cream.  It was just a lot to take in in one sitting.  Two of these drinks, and you'll have consumed your the next month's worth of dairy.  Heavy cream is just not meant to be ingested in large quantities in this form.  Mix it up to make some whipped cream, or use it as an ice cream ingredient and it becomes palatable.  Drinking it straight though, it's not all that appealing to me.

I'd suggest this as perhaps an alternative to egg-nog, come the holiday season (it is Christmas in July somewhere).  This may have been an ill-timed choice in the middle of the summer ("milk was a bad choice"), but it's still a good cocktail, just sweet, with a large amount of heavy cream.


This weekend, I'm travelling to a bachelor party for one of my good friends.  I hope you have a fantastic weekend, and enjoy the Shamrock, or whatever it is you'll be drinking.  Until Monday - salud!