18 St. Patrick’s Day Cocktails That Aren’t Cheesy (or Offensive)

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients, <30 minutes
• Serves: 1

A whiskey smash is a classic cocktail of whiskey, mint, lemon and simple syrup. You can easily make it St. Patrick’s Day-ready by using Irish whiskey, which is smooth, light and ideal for cocktails.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 1

"Oftentimes in restaurants, Irish coffees are overwhelmingly sweet and rich," recipe creator Kate Taylor explains. "I love making them at home because you can make them exactly how you like them." Try using maple syrup for a more complex flavor and gentle sweetness.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, <10 ingredients, <30 minutes
• Serves: 1

Never heard of this cocktail? It’s a whiskey-based drink that’s joined by lemon, cucumber and elderflower liqueur for a balance of sweet-tart flavors. Think of it like a whiskey smash with the volume dialed up.

• Time Commitment: 35 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, make ahead
• Serves: 1

There’s breakfast coffee and brunch coffee…and then there’s party coffee. With brown sugar whiskey syrup and more whiskey (because why not), I think I know where this drink stands. Follow recipe creator Jessica Merchant's lead and crown them with coconut whipped cream.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 1

Fun, refreshing, green and gilded with gold leaf, these are the sophisticated alternative to green beer. The cucumber-lime base keeps things from getting too sweet. Sub mezcal for tequila if you'd prefer a touch of smokiness.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 1

Aka an Irish lemonade, this tart St. Patrick’s Day cocktail is tempered with homemade simple syrup. "Make it your signature drink with your favorite steeped herb," recipe creator Heidi Larsen suggests. "Basil, rosemary, lavender, mint—whatever complements honey."

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <30 minutes, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 4

If there’s no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, I’ll settle for a glass of this ROYGBIV bev. You can use any colorful combination of fruit that you’d like, but if you don’t plan on muddling it, build the pitcher 30 minutes in advance so the flavors can meld in the fridge.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly, <30 minutes
• Serves: 4

Think Irish coffee meets Frappuccino. It sounds complicated, but you’ll actually just toss all the ingredients in a blender and blitz them until combined. Ground cinnamon and a few coffee beans (or better yet, chocolate-covered espresso beans) will make fine garnishes.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, <30 minutes
• Serves: 1

Midori, a melon-flavored liqueur, is paired with sour mix and citrus soda in this simple crowd-pleaser. The recipe calls for store-bought sour mix, but you can DIY it by combining 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of fresh lemon juice and ½ cup of fresh lime juice in a pot over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, <30 minutes, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 1

For a pinkies-out St. Patrick’s Day celebration, make this naturally green cocktail that’s a combination of gin, green Chartreuse, lime and maraschino liqueur. It’s tart, herbal and surprisingly potent. "If you’re having issues with debris in your beverage, you may want to run it through a fine-mesh strainer after you’ve poured it through the shaker’s own strainer," recipe developer Taylor Kiser recommends.

• Time Commitment: 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 2

This minty shake is as easy to make at home as it is to sit in the drive-thru line for 15 minutes. It’s alcohol-free, but a shot of something boozy could fix that. "Give the shake a little kick by adding a shot of Baileys Irish Cream, crème de menthe or vanilla vodka," recipe creator Sara Welch writes.

• Time Commitment: 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 6

If you want a festively hued drink but don’t care for whiskey, you might prefer this spicy twist on a bloody Mary. The base contains tomatillos, cilantro, cucumber and lime for a bright, spicy drink. The shrimp garnish is optional, of course...but why not treat yourself?

• Time Commitment: 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 2

Swap the usual vodka in a mudslide for whiskey and you’re looking at an Irish mudslide. The rest of the alcohol—Kahlúa and Baileys—stays the same. It’s indulgent, sure, but you were going to have ice cream after all that corned beef anyway, right?

• Time Commitment: 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, make ahead
• Serves: 23

Impress your friends by telling them you made the Irish cream yourself, then smile inside because you know it was as easy as combining seven common ingredients (like sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract) in a blender. Bottle and wrap it for a top-shelf-worthy gift.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion­-worthy, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 2

If you’re going to go OTT, do it with a spiked, marshmallow-laden milkshake. This recipe calls for marshmallow-flavored vodka, but you could use plain to cut down on the sweetness. (It's already packed with ice cream, sweet cereal and frosting as it is.)

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 1

Make this classic drink an Irish old fashioned by swapping the usual bourbon or rye for Irish whiskey. And FYI, don’t let anyone tell you it *has* to be Jameson—some other Irish whiskeys you could try include Bushmills, Glendalough, Redbreast and Teeling.

• Time Commitment: 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, <30 minutes, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 1

The secret to this St. Patrick's Day cocktail is caramelizing the sugar with nutmeg before adding the coffee. There's also another special element to this bev. "The whole drink is flambéed, so that the flavors come out just right," recipe creator Aida Mollenkamp writes.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 2

"My grandmother claims...the combo of whiskey, chocolate and coffee...is her secret to longevity, and I ain't gonna argue with that!" Mollenkamp raves. The recipe calls for coffee ice cream, but feel free to substitute vanilla or chocolate with a shot or two of espresso for a caffeine boost.