When I was a lass, it was never Lent on St. Patrick's Day. My parents enjoyed a drink or two and my brother and I gorged on shamrock-shaped shortbread cookies.

Our whole family wore their cleanest, greenest clothes to celebrate the day. If your green shirt or pants had a stain, well, that was your problem. You had to wear them anyway. "Cover it with this giant 'Kiss me I'm Irish' button," was always Dad's solution. Thanks Dad.

March 17th marks the anniversary of the death of St. Patrick, and the Irish have observed this religious day for over one thousand years.

Irish descendants in Canada use St. Patrick's Day to celebrate their Irish heritage to the fullest, and to heartily adopt revelers of any background to don an Irish persona for the day.

How to become Irish for a day
How does one become 'Irish for a day'? My dad is surely the king. He wears a pair of shoes he painted green. He wears green pants. A green shirt. Shamrock suspenders. 'Kiss me I'm Irish' button (see above). A shamrock that plays "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" when pushed. A top hat with green shamrock buckle. He walks with a Shillelagh (an Irish cane).

Top all this off with a toy Leprechaun in his shirt pocket, wearing the exact same outfit.

He wears this costume to work, arriving extra early to hide gifts for his office mates in mischievous Leprechaun fashion. Later, he hand-delivers green shamrock shortbread cookies to all his coworkers, quoting Irish blessings as he wanders through the office.

Did I mention my dad isn't Irish at all, but English?

Drink to your health
One of the best things about St. Patrick's Day - besides my crazy dad - is hitting a local pub or entertaining friends at home for good cheer, revelry, and unending singing rounds of "Whisky in the Jar".

We've compiled 10 Irish cocktails below, courtesy of our friends from ThatstheSpirit.com. Either memorize the titles to ask your local bartender between pints of Guinness, or purchase plenty of Irish Whisky and try them all for an evening of Irish cocktails amongst friends and family at home.

Slàinte! ("Slaan-sha" - meaning 'Good health!')

Irish Buck
Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 oz. Irish whiskey
• Ginger Ale
• Lemon peel
Mixing instructions






Irish Canadian Sangaree
Ingredients:
• 1/2 oz. Irish Mist
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. orange juice
• 1 oz. Canadian whisky
 Nutmeg, grated
Mixing instructions


Page 1 of 2 -- Find eight more great Irish cocktails on page 2
Irish Car Bomb
Ingredients:
• 1/2 pt. Guinness stout
• 1/2 oz. Irish cream
• 1/2 oz. Irish whiskey
Mixing instructions





Irish Coffee (Original)
Ingredients:
• 2 tbsp. heavy cream
• 1 1/2 oz. Irish whiskey
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup or superfine sugar
coffee
Mixing instructions




Irish Fix
• 1/2 oz. Irish Mist
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. pineapple syrup or pineapple juice
• 1 1/2 oz. Irish whiskey
Lemon slice
Orange slice
Mixing instructions



Irish Kilt
Ingredients:
• Several dashes orange bitters
• 1 1/2 oz. sugar syrup or to taste
• 1 oz. Irish whiskey
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 oz. scotch
Mixing instructions



Irish Mounty
Ingredients:
• 1/2 oz. heavy cream
• 1 1/2 oz. Canadian whisky
• 1 oz. Irish Mist
Nutmeg , grated
Mixing instructions




Irish Rainbow
Ingredients:
• Several dashes Angostura bitters
• Several dashes curaçao
• Several dashes maraschino liqueur
• Several dashes Pernod
• 1 1/2 oz. Irish whiskey
Orange peel
Mixing instructions


Irish Shillelagh
Ingredients:
• 5-6 fresh raspberries
• 2 canned California Cling Peach slices , diced
• 1/2 oz. light rum
• 1/2 oz. sloe gin
• 1 1/2 oz. Irish whiskey
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
Maraschino cherry
Mixing instructions

Mrs. Cahill's Irish Coffee
Ingredients:
• 2 oz. Irish whiskey
• 1/2 oz. coffee liqueur
• 1-2 tbsp. Whipped cream
coffee (hot, strong, black)
Orange peel
Mixing instructions



More great articles from ThatstheSpirit.com:
The history of Irish Whisky
No one knows when the Irish invented whiskey, but yes, they did invent it.

The history of Irish Coffee
"Only Irish Coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, fat." -- Alex Levine, Irish actor and musician

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