St. Paddy’s Day might be a booze-centric holiday, but can we be honest? We never want to taste (or see) another green beer again. Instead, we’re channeling the luck of the Irish with tipples that are festive and celebratory, but not cheesy—or worse, offensive. Here are 16 St. Patrick’s Day cocktails—from a whiskey smash to homemade Irish cream—that are delicious and decidedly grown up.
16 St. Patrick’s Day Cocktails That Aren’t Cheesy (or Offensive)
There’s an Irish coffee at the end of the rainbow
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Published Feb 14, 2024
How Sweet Eats/Cookie and Kate/Food Faith Fitness
- Time Commitment: 2 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients, <15 minutes
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: <15 minutes, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
If you’ve only ever had an Irish coffee that was overwhelmingly sweet, you should really try making it at home. That way, you can control how much sweetener you add. (Try using maple syrup for a more complex flavor.)
3. Irish Maid
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion–worthy, <10 ingredients, <15 minutes
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.
4. Iced Whiskey Coffees with Whiskey Syrup and Whipped Cream
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy
There’s breakfast coffee and brunch coffee…and then there’s party coffee. With brown sugar whiskey syrup and more whiskey (because why not), we think we know where this drink stands.
5. Golden Green Goddess Margaritas
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion–worthy, <15 minutes, <10 ingredients
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.
6. Whiskey Lemonade with Honey Simple Syrup
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
Aka an Irish lemonade, this tart St. Patrick’s Day cocktail is tempered with homemade simple syrup. Add fresh mint or basil for an easy garnish.
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <15 minutes, special occasion–worthy
If there’s no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, we’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.
8. Frozen Irish Cream Cappuccinos
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion–worthy, beginner-friendly
Think Irish coffee meets Frappuccino. It sounds complicated, but you’ll actually just toss everything in a blender.
9. Midori Sour
- Time Commitment: 3 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
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 water, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup fresh lemon juice and ½ cup fresh lime juice.
10. The Last Word
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, <15 minutes, beginner-friendly
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.
- Time Commitment: 6 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <15 minutes, <10 ingredients
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 vodka could fix that.
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: <15 minutes, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
If you want a festive 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.
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: <15 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
Swap the usual vodka in a mudslide for whiskey and you’re looking at an Irish mudslide. It’s indulgent, sure, but you were going to have ice cream after dinner anyway, right?
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
Impress your friends by telling them you made the Irish cream, then smile to yourself because you know it was as easy as combining seven common ingredients in a blender. Bottle it up for an even more impressive gift.
15. Boozy Lucky Charms Cereal Milkshakes with Marshmallow Frosting
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion–worthy, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
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.
16. Old Fashioned
- Time Commitment: 3 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <15 minutes
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.
