Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with some delicious cocktails

Your St. Patrick’s Day (SPD) celebration doesn’t have to be an orgy of drinking and partying (as much fun as that can be).  Salt Lake City’s Irish population (and those who wish they were) will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a parade today and a dinner or a party tonight.  Green drinks are something of a fad on SPD, so here are some food-coloring-free green cocktail recipes that you and your friends will enjoy. 

The Irish Lady is a great champagne cocktail for St. Paddy’s Day.  When served in a flute, this cocktail will remind you of a slender, red-headed colleen dressed in a pale green gown.  Exquisite.  Another champagne cocktail, the Shamrock Champagne, is best when served in a champagne flute. You will enjoy the transparent green appearance of this simple mix of Midori® melon liqueur and champagne.

If you really want a green beer cocktail, try an Irish Moon.  It gets its name from the Blue Moon ale; just think of the moon rising over County Tipperary, where the Mixologist’s Irish ancestors came from. 

My first original St. Patrick’s Day cocktail was the O'jito, a Gaelicized descendant of the Mojito.  It requires mint, which has the added advantage of being green, to acknowledge its Mojito ancestry.    You should enjoy this concoction of mint, Baileys® Irish Cream, and Amaretto.  If Irish Cream is your favorite St. Paddy’s Day beverage, you should try an Amaretto Irish Cream. 

If you’re looking for something a little more traditional (and dryer), why not try an Emerald.  Think of it as a Manhattan made with Irish Whiskey: Whiskey, Vermouth, and Bitters is all you need.  Make it (and drink it) pretty much the same way.  If you would like to check out these cocktails, here’s an Examiner slideshow. 

Beannachtai ná Fhéile Pádraig!