Celebrate St Patrick’s Day in style
Paddy, not Patty…
On March 17th we celebrate St Patrick’s day, if you’re in the US, please refrain from calling it Patty’s day… If you want to shorten it, use the correct abbreviation of PADDY’s Day – the Irish at Candra thank you. Slàinte!
What started around the 10th century as a feast day honoring St. Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland, has now evolved into a broader celebration of Irish culture which has been supercharged in the US. The tradition of the St. Patrick’s Day parade began in America and even predates the founding of the United States. Records show that the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held on March 17, 1601 in what is now St. Augustine, Florida.
At some point on the 17th, we’ll be seeking out a pint of the ‘black stuff’ (Guinness), but we’ll also be cheersing with a few other Irish classics that are perfect for the Perfect Paddy’s Day Celebrations.
Irish Coffee
Said to have been created in 1943 by Joe Sheridan, chef at Foynes Port near Limerick, Ireland. With its dark black body topped with a perfect white head, the Irish Coffee is one of the most iconic looking drinks in the world.
To achieve that iconic look you need perfect separation of the coffee mix and the cream. We’ve got the insider tricks for you to get it right every time.
Irish American Old Fashioned
Batched and bottled ready to serve, this Old Fashioned variation is perfect for your St Patrick’s Day celebrations. It’s a combination of the best of Irish and North America to produce an incredibly smooth Old Fashioned, with a real depth of flavour. Its unique character comes from both the blend of whiskeys as well as the use of maple syrup in place of sugar and chocolate bitters in place of the typical Angostura Bitters.
It’s a recipe that can be stirred down on the spot if you don’t have a chance to plan ahead, but we’re big fans of batching and bottling recipes, and this process will further round and smooth the recipe. We have written at length on batching both in our techniques guide and our guide to batching we wrote with Fords Gin.
Hot Toddy
The warming sensation of a Hot Toddy is perfect for St Patrick’s day as it comes at a time when spring is almost sprung, but usually it’s not quite there yet (unless you live somewhere that’s always summer!) If you’re in the southern hemisphere, winter is on its way, and an evening Hot Toddy might be just what you need.
The Hot Toddy is an old and simple concoction that’s made differently depending on where you are and what ingredients you have to hand. The basic building blocks are hot water, spices, spirit, lemon, and a sweetening agent. In Ireland of course, the spirit is Irish Whiskey.
There are so many options when it comes to picking sugars or spice combinations, but we have an elegantly simple version for you with honey that tastes fantastic and will warm both your soul and your bones on this St Patrick’s Day.
Let’s talk about sugar
Whatever sweetening ingredient you use will have a profound impact on the drink you’re making. All three of these drinks use a sweetening ingredient. Maple Syrup, Honey and of course sugar itself.
With so many different sugars to choose from, this simple ingredient causes a lot of confusion, but don’t stress, we’re here to help you. On Candra you can learn about sugars types, crystal size and what the different colours mean.
Beyond the crystalline stuff, there are also countless syrups. Sugar syrup, rich simple, gomme syrup, flavoured syrups. So many names, so many different options. We not only explain them to you, we also guide you through how to make them.
You’ll be needing a decent bottle of Whiskey of course…
Check out our guide to some of our favourite Irish Whiskey options. We’ll be adding Lost Irish to that list shortly too, let us know what your favourite is.
Have a great St Patrick’s day, don’t forget to drink responsibly!