Irish Cocktails Round-Up

By Emily Ross-Johnson

It’s that time of year again, where we begin to fret over what to serve for a St. Paddy’s Day shindig. It’s easy enough to throw some green food coloring in your beer and call it good, but you can do better than that! Irish Whiskey is an excellent choice for cocktails, but many people are a bit unsure of what to do with it, other than drinking it directly from a shot glass. Allow me to help you out with that.

Here is a list of 5 delicious cocktails, some of my design, all of them easy to make at home and are sure to please your guests.

Get ready, get set, get Irish!

1. The Emerald

Ingredients

2 oz Irish Whiskey

1 oz Sweet Vermouth

1 dash Orange Bitters

Add ingredients to a mixing glass filled with cracked ice. Stir for 30 seconds, strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with an orange peel.

 

2. The Irish Maid

A delightfully simple twist on a whiskey sour, this cocktail is floral and fresh with the addition of elderflower. With all the cold weather we’ve had this winter, it is a nice reminder of springtime to come.

Ingredients

2- 1/4 inch slices Cucumber

2 oz Jameson Black Barrel Irish Whiskey

1/2 oz St-Germain

3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

3/4 oz Simple Syrup

In a shaker, muddle the cucumber slices. Add remaining ingredients and fill shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, and fine-strain into a chilled rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with a cucumber slice.

 

3. The Copywriter

This is a long drink, so that means it will be light and refreshing. The addition of sweet vermouth gives it a nice complexity.

Ingredients

2 oz Irish Whiskey

3/4 oz Lemon Juice

1/2 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth

1/2 oz Honey Syrup

Seltzer

Add whiskey, lemon, sweet vermouth, and honey syrup to a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake until well chilled, about 15 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled Collins glass. Top with seltzer and garnish with a lemon twist.

 

4. The Shoemaker

This is a fun cocktail with a somewhat unlikely combination of Irish Whiskey and raspberries. The Fino Sherry adds a nice depth to the brightness of the berries.

Ingredients

2 oz Knappogue Castle Single Malt Irish Whiskey 12 YO

1 oz Fino Sherry

1/2 oz Simple Syrup

1 dash Orange bitters

2 Raspberries

1 Orange Slice

1 Orange Peel

Add dash of bitters, raspberries, orange slice & sugar syrup to shaker tin and muddle. Add sherry, Knappogue Castle Single Malt Irish Whiskey castle 12yr and ice and shake. Double strain into an old fashioned glass and top with crushed ice. Express orange oils from peel and discard. Garnish with mint sprig and raspberry.

 

5. The Irish Raj

This is one of my own creations. With the use of cardamom, a spice often found in Indian cuisine, this Irish whiskey cocktail gets a little East meets West treatment. Egg white gives it a lovely, smooth mouthfeel. You can spice things up a bit on Paddy’s Day with this one!

Ingredients

2 oz Irishman Founder’s Reserve Whiskey

3/4 oz Lemon Juice

1/2 oz Irish Breakfast Cardamom Honey Syrup *

1 Egg White

Dry shake all ingredients until egg whites are frothy, shake with ice and strain into a coupe or over a large cube in a rocks glass. Garnish with a few dashes of aromatic bitters and 3 cardamom pods.

*Irish Breakfast Cardamom Honey Syrup: Boil 1 1/2 cups water, steep a good quality Irish Breakfast tea bag in it for 5-6 minutes. Remove tea bag, bring the tea to a boil and add 1 cup of honey and 1/4 of green cardamom pods. Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes. Strain the pods out and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one month.

Emily Ross-Johnson is the Founder and Chief Whiskey Maven at Astoria Whiskey Society. When she’s not organizing awesome tastings and events for her group, you can enjoy reading her whiskey musings and trying out her recipes on www.astoriawhiskeysociety.com. As a trained opera singer, Emily performs regularly in the NY metro area and beyond. Emily enjoys traveling and finds inspiration wherever she goes. Above all, Emily loves sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for cocktails and spirits with others. Follow her on Instagram @TheGalAboutTown as she pursues her quest to find a #dramgoodtime.