A Cocktail Trey – And One – For Your St. Patrick’s Day March Into Madness
Some years you get the two unofficial drinking and gambling holidays – March Madness and St. Patrick’s Day – coinciding with each other for the former’s first and second round games – and this happens to be one of those years so you should be prepared with the proper cocktails for said events.
Naturally, you are going to want plenty of Irish whiskey on hand – Bushmills and Jameson are the two most popular but might we suggest adding Teeling to the mix this year? Also, if you are going to drink it neat, there are any of a number of decent Irish whiskies to choose from but whether or not you should purchase them depends on your party’s clientele – will they notice subtle discrepancies in Irish whiskies or will they just be jumping around yelling and screaming for any of a variety of reasons? Plan your purchases accordingly.
But in those years when March Madness and St. Patrick’s Day collide on the calendar, it really is a no-brainer to have these four cocktails ready to go for your post-buzzer beater needs…
The day cannot begin without, of course, the…
Bloody Mary
Ingredients:
•2 ounces vodka
•2 ounces tomato juice
•2 ounces prepared beef bouillon
•½ ounce of fresh lemon juice
•3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
•2 dashes Tabasco Sauce
•1 pinch salt
•1 pinch coarsely ground black pepper
•Garnish: lemon wedge
Directions: Add all the ingredients to a shaker and fill with ice. Roll the shaker back and forth until everything is well mixed. Strain into a glass filled with fresh ice and garnish with a lemon wedge.
After that pre-game drink is in the books, move on to the first round with some throw-down-the-jam punch…
The Slam Dunk
Ingredients:
•13 ounces whisky [your choice]
•6.5 ounces mint tea
•1 bottle Bordeaux red wine
•3.25 ounces Allspice Dram
•3 naval or blood oranges
•13 whole star anise pods
Directions: Using a microplane grater, remove the zest from 2 of the oranges over a pot or slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. As soon as it begins to simmer, lower the heat to the low setting. After 5 minutes, serve into punch or tea cups.
Don’t overload on the Slam Dunk or else you won’t be prepared to defend against…
The Alley Oop
Ingredients:
•1.3 ounces rye whisky
•½ ounce lemon juice
•¼ ounce ginger syrup
•1 teaspoon simple syrup
•¾ ounce sparkling water
•Raspberries
•Mint leaves
Directions: Muddle, shake, and double-strain into a glass.
Finally, the day cannot end, of course, without the…
Irish Coffee
Ingredients:
•1 ounce espresso
•1 ounce Irish whiskey
Directions: You don’t need no stinkin’ directions for this one – it’s just coffee and whiskey, mate! Though you are allowed to substitute any coffee and/or whisky you like for the two ingredients.
