St. Patty’s day is right around the corner.  In just a couple of weeks we’ll be dodging pinch-happy people looking for green, cooking up corned beef and cabbage, and, my favorite, swilling boozey green concoctions.  In preparation for this favorite of spring holidays, I scoured the liquor and grocery stores looking for suitably colored ingredients for a few fun drinks.  I was completely underwhelmed at the limited number of green mixers!  I found two.  Two green mixers in the vast displays of liquid, alcoholic goodness filling up the liquor store shelves.  Two!  Green apparently isn’t a very popular color for drinking.  I found a few green health drinks that made think I would rather just eat grass so I passed on those.  So, I just had to get a little creative.  That is, after all, the best part about mixing drinks (except for the actual drinking part).   I used Midori, a brilliantly green melon liqueur and Creme de Menthe, an intensely minty liqueur found at the liquor store.  From the grocery, fresh jalapenos, cilantro, mint, cucumber and fruit for garnishes, lemon lime pop and sparkingling water, cream and ice cream.  Everything should be readily available between the liquor and grocery stores.  The trio of drinks below are easy to whip up in big batches, but are written out for single servings.  So cook up some good Irish food, invite over some good friends and skip the green beer this year with these delicious and festive cocktails.

Mill Town Lemon Lime Lush

1 ½ oz.  Mill Town Vodka

½ oz. Midori Melon Liqueur

6 – 8 oz. Lemon Lime soda

Splash of lime

 

Shake up the vodka and Midori, pour over ice, add a splash of lime juice and top with the soda.  Garnish with mint and lime or lemon wedges.

The Midori adds a lovely green color and hint of melon to this refreshing cocktail.  The splash of lime adds a bright flavor to the vodka and soda.

 

 

 

 

 

Some Like It Hot No. 217

1 ½ oz. Mill Town No. 217 or Wildman

4 – 6 oz. La Croix Lime sparkling water

Jalapeno, sliced

Cucumber, sliced

Cilantro, roughly chopped

Agave syrup

 

Muddle several slices of jalapeno and cucumber and a small handful of cilantro with the corn whiskey in a shaker.  Add agave to taste, and shake, strain into a glass over ice.  Top with several ounces lime flavored sparkling water.  Garnish with additional slices of jalapeno and cucumber and a sprig of cilantro.

This will have a little more of a kick with the 120 proof Wildman (60% alc. By vol.) and is more of a savory drink than sweet. Feel free to use a simple syrup if that is what you have on hand.  It doesn’t take a lot of agave to balance the heat of the peppers.  It’s easy to adjust the spiciness of this cocktail by adjusting the amount of jalapenos.  And a word of warning: the cilantro garnish will suck up the heat of the jalapenos, so be careful if you like to eat your garnishes (yes, I found this out the hard way!).

 

And what holiday meal would be complete without a little dessert?  This deliciously refreshing drink combines dessert and a cocktail for the ultimate after dinner treat.  But keep it away from the kids.  This is an ice cream shake for adults only!

 

Mill Town St. Patty’s Day Shake

1 ½ oz. Pend Oreille River Light Rum

Splash of Creme de Menthe

3 – 4 oz. cream or milk

Chocolate chip mint ice cream

 

Add rum, creme de menthe, cream or milk and a generous portion of ice cream in a blender and blend just until combined.   Pour into a tall glass and garnish with whipped cream and a mint sprig.

This doesn’t take a lot of time in the blender, just enough to combine, but not enough to turn the cream into butter.  It is a thick, creamy, boozy, delicious, grown-up shake that will remind you there are warmer days to come.  

 

Cheers from all of us here at Mill Town!  Happy St. Patrick’s Day and don’t forget to wear your green, enjoy your holiday and please drink responsibly.