The Culinary Works

Share this Digg Del.icio.us Reddit Slashdot Furl Yahoo Technorati Newsvine Ma.Gnolia Googlize this Blinklist Facebook Hear this text Print E-mail

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!  (Or St. Paddy's Day if you prefer)  Whatever you want to call it, call it a good time for green beer and cocktails; or at least shots!  Yes indeed folks it is time once again for another St. Patrick’s Day to come upon us to enjoy corned beef and cabbage and copious amounts of alcohol on a school night.  Now for myself, I tend to refrain from getting too involved with large celebrations (mainly due to crowds) but this is one of the few times I do enjoy having a shot or 3?  Ha ha ha...  Let's take a look at what we could get ourselves into this year.

As you know, most restaurants and bars will try to lure in with the "green beer special" which at most places is nothing more than an inexpensive lager with some green food coloring.  Albeit fun yet a little cliché for the festivities, there are other drinks that serve up much better.  How about a good old fashioned pint of Guinness?  Now I know some of you out there in cyber-land say...no, no, no that beer is too dark for me.  But what most people don't realize due to their lack of trying it, that it actually drinks a lot lighter and easier than say a Sierra Nevada Ale.  Now of course this is all personal preference here, but I know some of you would agree with me on this one.

So sticking with our good friend Guinness, how about a Black and Tan?  My favorite way to make this is with of course Guinness and Harp lager, a really good match of flavors here.   You should be able to find both extremely easy to find in stores this week and next.  Now if you are a beer lover, but would like to venture out a little on the dangerous side,  might I suggest a shot or two of something to go along with your green beer, Guinness, or Black & Tan?

Oh, you're game?  Awesome!

There is nothing like a little peer pressure from a guy wearing a "kiss me I'm Irish" shirt, and a green bowler hat right?  Let's see what we could do here...ah yes I got it!  How about a shot of good Irish whiskey?  Jameson is the first one that comes to my mind and is always been a timeless classic for a shot.  Not a whiskey fan eh?  Well that's ok, for most it is an acquired taste.  How about something a little sweeter?  You guess it, Bailey’s Irish Cream to the rescue.  Of course if you don't have Baileys per se you can always go with one of the following Irish Cream liquors that substitute quite nicely:  Carolans Irish Cream, Duggan’s Irish Cream, Emmets Irish Cream, Irish Manor Irish Cream or even St. Brendan's Irish Cream.

Now you're in the swing of things having some delicious food and drinks with friends, now you want to up the ante you say?  I thought you would never ask!  BOOM!!!

Yup, Irish Car Bomb time!!!

Now that you have all of the above ingredients, you have the makings for what I would consider a St. Paddy's Day tradition for me.  Here is the breakdown for a drink that you will either love or hate depending on your palate and intoxication level when you start doing them.

What you will need:

• 3/4 Pint Guinness Stout ( you need room for the extra stuff )
• 1/2 shot Bailey's Irish Cream (or any of the other substitutes listed above)
• 1/2 shot Jameson Irish Whiskey

How to make it up:

• Add the Bailey's and Jameson to a shot glass, layering the Bailey's on the bottom of the shot.
• Pour the Guinness into a pint glass or beer mug 3/4 of the way full and let it settle.
• Drop the shot into the Guinness glass and chug'er down!

Now here is the caveat, if you him and haw over taking this shot it does not improve with time.  It will actually start to curdle due to the Irish Cream component and you will not like the taste of it at that point.

I am getting thirsty just thinking about this one!  Well I hope you all have a happy, but more importantly safe St. Patrick’s Day this year.  Here are a few more shots for your tasting pleasure.

 

Dixie Car Bomb:

• 1/2 shot Old Crow bourbon whiskey
• 1/2 shot butterscotch schnapps
• 15 oz Pabst lager

Directions:

Done just like an Irish Car Bomb, pour the whiskey on top of the schnapps in a shot glass, and drop it into a pint of Pabst beer.

 

The Belfast Car Bomb

• 3/4 oz Kahlua coffee liqueur
• 1 tsp Bailey's Irish cream
• 1 tsp Jameson Irish whiskey
• 1/2 pint Guinness stout

Directions:

Pour Kahlua coffee liqueur into a shot glass. Top with Bailey's Irish cream and Jameson whiskey. Drop the shot glass into a half-pint of Guinness, and consume immediately.

 

Canadian Car Bomb

• 3/4 pint Molson beer
• 1/2 shot Canadian Club Whiskey
• 1/2 shot maple syrup dropped into the beer (usually the syrup is micro waved first to make it less viscous)

Directions:

Drink it however you like, Canadians are not picky.

Quote this article on your site