Cocktail & Other Recipes By Spirit Vodka Cocktails

Shamrock Shot

It’s hard to think of another holiday with as many associated drinks as St. Patrick’s Day has. The Irish Coffee and the Irish Shot, along with dyed green beer, are the most well-known of this questionable category, but there are many others. For some revelers, there are two rules to fixing a St. Patrick’s Day drink: It should be green and it should be shootable. The Shamrock Shot, a festive, minty chocolate shot, checks both boxes. Does it have anything to do with the patron saint of Ireland? Of course it doesn’t.

When making any kind of sweet green shot, the obvious move is to go with creme de menthe, which is exactly what this drink calls for. While you could use another vodka, vanilla vodka is going to taste the way the drink looks—like a sweet, rich dessert. Chocolate bitters enhance the dessert-quality of the drink, but also give it much-needed depth.

Because the Shamrock Shot is so sweet and creamy, it’s important to get it as cold as possible. To this end, you’ll want to throw the empty shot glasses into the freezer for twenty to thirty minutes prior to filling them with the creamy green concoction and topping them with whipped cream. And if you want to make the drink even more appropriate for the holiday, considering hitting the whipped cream with some green food dye or, better idea, infusing the cream with creme de menthe. Finally, you’ll want to garnish the shot with a single Andes mint.

Keep in mind that though each shot is small, they’re absolutely packed with sugar, calories and alcohol. As easy to pound as it might be, you may want to consider sticking to one or two Shamrock Shots in a given day, even if that day is March 17.

A tall, narrow shot glass is filled with a bright green creamy drink, topped with whip cream and a chocolate mint garnish. The background is blurry with mints and a Hawthorne strainer.

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 ounces creme de menthe

  • 1 1/4 ounces vanilla vodka

  • 2 ounces heavy cream

  • 4 dashes chocolate bitters

  • Garnish: Andes creme de menthe thin

  • Garnish: whipped cream

Steps

Serves 2.

  1. Add the creme de menthe, vanilla vodka, heavy cream and chocolate bitters into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled

  2. Strain into two shot glasses.

  3. Garnish with an Andes creme de menthe thin and whipped cream.