stumbling shamrock cocktail

So vividly emerald you might think it a vegetable. (It’s not.)

I initially considered shaking up something akin to an Irish coffee. Nothing wrong with a nice hot sip laced with whiskey on an evening nowhere near cold enough to justify its coziness. Seemed a bit standard, though, a poor use of our new bottle of Writer’s Tears acquired a couple weekends ago. So, as I do when I’m plodding away in zone 2 on my bike trainer, I paged through my mental manual of mixology. It’s fairly limited, mind you, but sometimes cool things come up in the appendices. Like this.

Creme de menthe colors this snazzy St. Paddy’s sip, while coconut rum and Irish whiskey offer the body and the booze. If that’s not enough to tingle the tastebuds, the easy chocolate syrup on the bottom gives the drink a sweet, delightful finish. You could shake the syrup into the drink, but at the expense of that gorgeous hue. Chartreuse, rotten leaf brown is a bit less attractive than minty and magnificent.

Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you’ve made!

St. Patrick’s Day dinner, made: Guinness Braised Jackfruit Cheddar Taquitos with Balsamic Mushroom Whiskey Cream Sauce

stumbling shamrock cocktail

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No food dye here! The electric minty hue stems from sweet creme de menthe shaken with Irish whiskey and coconut rum and poured over a spoonful of chocolate syrup for a delectable St. Patrick's Day treat. I like the somewhat drippy brown sugar rim for extra flavor and to make the cocktail look sort of loopy and drunk, but you can use normal granulated sugar if you wish!

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

  

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp instant espresso
• 1-2 tbsp chocolate simple syrup (recipe below)
• 1 oz creme de menthe
• 1.5 oz Irish whiskey
• 1.5 oz coconut rum

chocolate simple syrup

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

Instructions

 

• To make the coffee sugar rim, whisk together the sugar and instant espresso on a shallow dish.
• For the chocolate simple syrup, combine cocoa powder, sugar, and water in a small sauce pan. Heat for 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
• Run a damp clean cloth around the rim of your choice glass. Dip and twist through the coffee sugar until well coated. Spoon in choice amount of chocolate syrup into the bottom of the glass.
• In a shaker, combine creme de menthe, whiskey, and coconut rum. Add ice and shake until cold. Strain over ice into the glass and top with mint leaves.