Irish :Toast St. Patrick without leaving home
With St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Saturday this year, pubs, bars and taverns will be even more filled with revelers than normal.
For those who don’t want to fight the rowdy crowds, celebrating at home with the same Irish cocktails that the bars will be serving isn’t too difficult, even for an inexperienced bartender.
Irish coffee, the Nutty Irishman, and other festive drinks in shades of green are fun to make at home without the crowds or the worry of driving after imbibing.
Beer, particularly the Irish favorites Guinness Stout and Harp, will always be most popular on St. Patrick’s Day. But Melissa Urdiales, manager of Kevin O’Bryan’s Irish Pub in Akron, said favorite holiday cocktails are easy to mix up at home too.
Urdiales has been tending bar at O’Bryan’s, 1761 S. Main St., for the past 10 years and said Irish whiskey and Irish cream liqueur are the foundations for many holiday cocktails.
Like regular coffee, Irish coffee, which is spiked with Irish whiskey and topped with cream, can both start and end the day.
“We sell a lot of Irish coffee in the morning, because we open at 7 a.m. with free breakfast,” Urdiales said. Another morning favorite is the Irish Breakfast, which is a shot of Irish whiskey mixed with butterscotch schnapps and chased with orange juice, she said.
Irish coffee also works well as an after-dinner drink, as does coffee combined with Irish cream liqueur.
Cream liqueurs, such as Baileys or Carolans, are made from Irish whiskey combined with real cream. They can be enjoyed alone over ice, or mixed into a variety of other cocktails. Because of their creamy caramel flavor, they also work well in recipes for cakes, desserts or even breakfast food.
Many of the holiday drinks are made with flavored liqueurs such as schnapps or creme de menthe, which makes them lower in alcohol by volume — 20 percent or less — compared to traditional liquors which are in the range of 40 to 90 proof.
When it comes to mixing up St. Patrick’s Day cocktails, Jonah Swafford, bar manager at the Barley House in downtown Akron, said the best way to create one is to experiment with a variety of combinations until you come up with a drink you enjoy. Minty-flavored drinks with their green color always work for the holiday. Guinness, Irish whiskey and Irish cream can be combined into a variety of cocktails, including the Irish Car Bomb, a specialty drink at the Barley House. It’s a riff on the traditional shot-and-a-beer drink, the boilermaker, made with Irish ingredients, Swafford said.
When entertaining at home, Swafford said an Irish beer, Irish whiskey and Irish cream liqueur would be enough variety to create a number of drinks, including the classic Irish coffee, which can be made with traditional whiskey or Irish cream. Just don’t forget the whipped cream on top.
Here are some recipes for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in the comforts of home.
IRISH COFFEE
1 cup hot coffee
1 jigger (1.5 oz) Irish whiskey
1 tbsp. brown sugar
Whipped cream
Mix sugar, whiskey and coffee together until sugar dissolves. Float whipped cream on top.
Makes 1 drink.
DUBLIN APPLE
¼ oz. creme de menthe
1.5 oz. (1 jigger) Irish whiskey, such as Jameson
¼ oz. sour apple liqueur
Mix all three ingredients together with ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a martini/cocktail glass and serve.
Makes 1 drink.
— Kevin O’Bryan’s Irish Pub
NUTTY IRISHMAN
1 part hazelnut liqueur
1 part Irish cream liqueur
Mix together and serve over ice in a cocktail glass.
Makes 1 drink.
— Kevin O’Bryan’s Irish Pub
IRISH CAR BOMB
1 glass Guinness
¾ oz. Irish whiskey, such as Jameson
¼ oz. Irish cream liqueur
In a shot glass combine the whiskey and Irish cream.
Drop shot into glass of Guinness, as with a boilermaker, and drink.
Makes 1 drink.
— The Barley House
PEPPERMINT PADDY MARTINI
8 oz. Irish cream liqueur
2 oz. creme de cacao liqueur
2 oz. vanilla vodka
2 oz. heavy cream
¼ tsp. pure peppermint extract
Peppermint whipped cream, for garnish (recipe follows)
Fill cocktail shaker ? full with ice. Add first 5 ingredients; shake until well mixed and chilled. Strain into martini/cocktail glasses.
Top each with a dollop of peppermint whipped cream, if desired.
Makes 4 servings.
PEPPERMINT WHIPPED CREAM
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup confectioners sugar
¼ tsp. pure peppermint extract
Beat all three ingredients in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.
Makes about 2 cups.
— www.mccormick.com?;
BAILEYS FRENCH TOAST
1 loaf challah bread in 1-inch slices
2½ cups milk
5 eggs
3 tbsp. cinnamon (plus more for on top)
½ cup dark brown sugar (plus more for on top)
½ tsp. salt
5 tbsp. Baileys Original Irish Cream
Orange zest, almond slivers, pecans, raisins or other dried fruits (optional)
Generously grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter.
Arrange bread in two tightly packed layers in the pan, filling in any gaps with smaller pieces. If the bread is sliced very thin, you can do up to three layers. If you are layering any fillings of fruit or nuts, put them between the layers (or sprinkle over the top at the end).
Whisk together milk, eggs, cinnamon, sugar, salt and Baileys. Pour over the bread. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon and sugar.
Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The bread will absorb all of the milk custard overnight.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until puffed and golden.
To serve, combine 2 tablespoons of butter, a splash of maple syrup and a splash of Baileys. Warm in the microwave, stirring between 30-second increments until butter is melted and mixture starts to bubble. Drizzle over the top of toast.
Makes 8 servings. (This recipe contains no more than 0.6 fluid ounces of alcohol per serving.)
— www.baileys.com
Lisa Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or at [email protected].
Bill & Sheila’s Wine
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