St Patrick’s Day 2022: Five Guinness cocktails you can make at home

Celebrate with one of Ireland’s top tipples

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St Patrick’s Day honours the death of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

The annual day of celebration originally marked the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and was made an official religious holiday by the Catholic Church in the early 17th century.

While traditional festivities saw communities gather at church services and family feasts, it has since become a notoriously boozy affair.

With a 24-hour suspension of the Lenten restrictions on eating and alcohol consumption, as well as indulging in traditional Irish foods and wearing head-to-toe green, many celebrate Sunday 17 March by sipping on one of the country’s most iconic exports – Guinness.

A stout beer made from roasted barley, hops, yeast and water, “the black stuff” has been enjoyed at every St Patrick’s Day since Arthur Guinness set up his brewery in 1759.

Well known for it’s dark colour, creamy head and characteristic caramelised flavour, there’s no better way to celebrate than sipping on the most famous of all Irish drinks.

If you’re looking to switch things up this year, you could consider new ways to serve up the dark, creamy brew by experimenting with your mixology skills.

From an Irish twist on an Old Fashioned to a malty Bloody Mary, check out these Guinness cocktail recipes for St Patrick's Day:

Wilde Oscar

A simple cocktail that takes just five minutes to make, the Wilde Oscar is a modern take on the Old Fashioned. A traditionally saccharine drink, the addition of bitter stout beer helps to offset some of the sweetness as does using a bourbon with lots of spicy character.

Ingredients – serves one

1.5oz bourbon

1oz Guinness Extra Stout

0.5oz rich simple syrup

Dash of botanical bitters

Guinness Bloody Mary

A take on the traditional Bloody Mary, this recipe uses seafood seasoning, black pepper, hot sauce and Worcester sauce combined with tomato juice and stout beer to give it a malty flavour.

Ingredients – serves one

1.5oz vodka

3oz tomato juice

2 pinches celery salt

2 pinches pepper

Seafood seasoning

2 dashes hot sauce

2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

1 squeeze lemon

2oz Guinness Draught

Parts Unknown

This drink is a combination of a traditional Guinness cocktail and a more tropical Tiki-style cocktail that combines stout beer with blackcurrant liquor to balance the bitterness and compliment its natural dark fruit flavours.

Ingredients – serves one

1.5oz rum

0.5oz lemon

0.75oz Crème de Cassis

0.25oz Orgeat

Guinness Draught

St James’s Flip

Named after the St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin, this is a traditional old-style cocktail that’s made using a whole egg. For best results, use the freshest eggs you can get your hands on and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Ingredients – serves one

1oz rum

0.5oz sweetened condensed milk

1/2 of a fresh egg

1.5oz Guinness Foreign Extra Stout or Guinness Draught

Grated nutmeg

Newly Minted

A combination of stout beer and white crème de menthe, the two ingredients pair really well together to create a warm chocolatey character. The trick here is to use lots of ice and serve with a sprig of mint.

Ingredients – serves one

1 fluid oz White Crème De Menthe

Guinness Extra Stout or Guinness Draught

For everything you need to know about this year's St Patrick's Day, click here.