St. Patrick’s Day 2009: Grownup Shamrock Shakes

I don’t know about you guys, but I love Shamrock Shakes.  When I was a kid, I always got excited in March. I could get a green milkshake at McDonald’s, and it was mint flavored.  Occasionally, I still run into the Shamrock Shake.  However, because they’re only available in March, I have to hope I’m in a Shamrock-friendly area.  Savannah usually offers the delights, but they’re hard to find elsewhere.  If you’ve been reading Serious Eats lately, you may have even discovered that NY is a dry state for the shakes.  At that point, I felt compelled to recreate the Shamrock Shake at home.  And, since I was making it myself, I figured I might as well flavor it with alcohol.  Mint extract is generally disgusting.  So, after a little tinkering, I have an excellent replica – both in flavor and color – of the Shamrock Shake.  My only regret is that I couldn’t capture the pale, minty color very well in the photographs.  But the taste – the taste is divine.

 

This might be a better idea of the color....

 

 

Grownup Shamrock Shakes

• 2 1/2 C vanilla ice cream
• 1 C milk
• 1 oz green crème de menthe
• 2 oz white chocolate liqueur
• 2 oz vanilla vodka

Combine all ingredients in a blender.  Blend well.  Garnish with sprigs of mint, and serve in hurricane, parfait, or large water glasses with a straw.

Serves 4.

Note: while this recipe is written in ounces, you can measure the alcohol in jiggers (shots).  One jigger is about 1.5 oz, so if you measure this way you may want to add a bit more ice cream or milk.  The crème de menthe is powerfully minty, so a little goes a long way.  You can use either light or dark crème de menthe, but the green colors the shakes perfectly.