Drinking St. Patrick's Day Style

I'm not Irish. But it sure is fun to pretend to be for a day once a year! That's why today I'm offering up a variety of drinks of both the beer and spirit persuasion that are ample to serve up this St. Patrick's Day.

Don't be surprised that the thing called "green beer" is not included on the list. There is always a time and place for something kitschy such as green beer, but I know you guys have it in ya to step up your game! Try any of these great drinks as a different and more creative approach to celebrating St. Patty's and let me know what becomes your new stand-in. :)

1. Irish Coffee - The best part of waking up on St. Patty's is with a dram of Jameson (not Folgers!) in your cup. I enjoy this recipe from Imbibe as a go-to Irish Coffee.
   
2. Black Velvet - Have some Guinness on hand? Rather than just downing a pint, why not consider adding a bit of fizz to your glass? The Black and Velvet I experimented with earlier in the year is a nice alternative to drinking Guinness on St. Patty's. You can also read Paul Clarke's take on the drink here.
3. Irish Appletini - Offering a sweeter edge, the Irish Appletini (pictured at top) is a great cocktail to switch up the heavy beer-oriented focus for St. Patrick's Day. With a touch of effervescence at the end, this drink is refreshing and takes the heat off the Jameson whiskey.

Irish Appletini
2 parts Jameson Irish Whiskey
1 part Hiram Walker Sour Apple Schnapps
Top with Ginger Ale

Shake whiskey and schnapps in a shaker with ice and strain into a martini glass. Top with ginger ale and garnish with a green apple slice.

Saving the best for last is the Pickleback. Never heard of one? You're in for a treat. The drink itself is notoriously simple. The Pickleback consists of one shot of Jameson followed by a pickle juice chaser. While its origins are unknown, the Pickleback can now be ordered in cocktail bars throughout the country. Slightly sweet, slightly salty, the Pickleback is surely one to try this St. Patty's Day.

Any other St. Patrick's Day rituals that you drink (or eat, for that matter) today? I'd love to hear your feedback, as always!

Slainte!
SJ

What's a girl to do with all this Guinness?

Oh, let me count the ways in which to answer this post's burning question:

Besides the obvious 1. Drink the Guinness as it should be drank and 2. Make a Black and Tan, I had saved up quite a few recipes that had more creative approaches to serving and, dare I say, baking Guinness.

3. Beer Bread
My boyfriend and I decided to try our luck at baking and make ourselves some Beer Bread. In the good hands of a recipe shared by online drinking buddy, Greg, we had a super simple recipe that needed only three ingredients, including the beer! Three ingredients?! I think even I can handle that...

Beer Bread is ready to go in the oven, with another beer poured, rewarding me for all my baking efforts! ;)

Fresh out of the oven Beer Bread.

4. Black Velvet
So I think we're all pretty familiar with the Guinness layered with another beer (Bass, et. al), but I had never thought to combine Guinness and some bubbly! Serious Eats recently had resurrected Paul Clarke's post on the Black Velvet cocktail, a cocktail that actually contains no hard liquor at all!

While Paul's recipe actually says to serve this drink in a Collins glass, there was still something oh so appealing about pouring Guinness into a champagne glass.

I hope these suggestions for using Guinness have come in handy for that 6-pack sitting in your fridge. If you have more suggestions, please feel free to share your comments.

Cheers!
SJ