The Irish Maid: The Perfect St. Patrick's Day co*cktail (2024)

The session drink known as the Irish Maid is the perfect St. Paddy’s Day co*cktail. It is light, refreshing, bright, and twinkles like the Emerald Isle itself.

This St. Patrick’s Day, ditch the green beer for this sophisticated grown-up drink! Cheers! This St. Patrick’s Day co*cktail requires just five ingredients to make.

Give it a try, and sip away on a refreshing and delicious boozy co*cktail.

This drink is also fantastic for making for parties if you are planning a party!

The Irish Maid: The Perfect St. Patrick’s Day co*cktail

Here’s hoping you have a wonderful Saint Patrick’s Day! What’s on your St. Paddy’s Day to-do list?

Making Irish Soda Bread? Listening to Thistle & Shamrock? (I adore Fiona Ritchie, don’t you?) Or sucking down a few pints of green beer?

I field-tested a wonderful session drink (meaning a drink you can drink all night), the delicious and traditional, The Irish Maid.

This co*cktail is my liquefied version of a pot of Irish Gold.

For starters, it’s got a pretty good double jigger of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey (but any good Irish whiskey will do, don’t ye’ know?).

About this St. Patrick’s Day co*cktail

The Irish Maid co*cktail is an easy co*cktail to prepare. All you’ll need is a wee-spot of Elderflower liqueur, a dribble of freshly squeezed lemon juice, and a sweet splash of simple syrup tinged with o’ bit of honey.

But the ingredient that sets this toast to the Emerald Isle apart is the addition of freshly sliced and crisp cucumber!

The muddled cucumber lends an earthiness to this homage to the unsung heroine of Irish-American culture, the Irish Maid. This co*cktail drinks light and is ideal for evening sipping, and it doesn’t sit heavy like a pint of Irish beer. Enjoy. Cheers!

This St. Patrick’s Day, I’m replacing the green beer with something a bit more, well, less green.

Not all cucumbers are created equal; I am using English cucumbers for this co*cktail recipe because they have a thin outer rind, small seeds, and are less bitter than a conventional cucumber.

Muddle two cucumber slices in the bottom of a co*cktail mixing glass.

Add the muddled cucumbers to a co*cktail tin filled with pebbled ice.

I like using the pebbled ice because it helps with dilution, but use whatever ice you have on hand.

You can’t make a respectable St. Paddy’s Day co*cktail without Jameson & Sons’ Irish Whiskey.

The Ingredients You Will Need To Make This Irish Maid co*cktail:

Irish Whiskey. You can’t make an Irish-themed co*cktail without using a dram (or two) of good Irish Whiskey. I like Jameson because it’s easy to find, and Jameson was the first Whiskey I bought when I got my first apartment and started doing grown-up things.

Elderflower Liqueur. Fun fact, it takes about 1,000 elderberry flowers to make a single bottle of elderflower liqueur. That’s a lot of fresh flowers. I am not sure how this ingredient became essential to making the Irish Made, but it’s indispensable. I prefer the St. Germaine version but grab whatever brand of elderflower liqueur you can find.

Honey Simple Syrup. Make this ingredient by combining one cup of water with one cup of sugar, adding 1/4 cup of honey, and bringing it to a boil. Keep stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cover with a tight-fitting lid, steep for ten minutes. Done.

Cucumber. The addition of fresh cucumber is an unexpected treat in this co*cktail. If you can, use an English cucumber because it is sweeter than the regular slicer cucumbers we’re most familiar with, and the English cucumber has smaller seeds. But use whatever variety of cucumber you can find.

Lemon Juice. As always, freshly squeezed lemon juice works best, brightening things up while adding the appeal of citrus, and lemon juice will balance the sweetness of the elderflower liqueur and the honey simple syrup.

Ice. This simple ingredient is, without question, the essential element of them all. The magic happens by adding ice into a co*cktail tin with the rest of the ingredients and shaking it all up like a madman. The ice crushing against the inside of the co*cktail shaker dilutes the ice and helps bring all the ingredients together.

You Will Love This co*cktail Because It’s:

• Easy
• Light
• Tasty
• Refreshing
• Not Too Sweet
• Has Irish Whiskey

Irish Whiskey plus elderflower liqueur, who knew?

Alternative to Jameson Whiskey

You can easily swap it with any Irish whiskey if you can’t find or get Jameson Whiskey.

You will find that depending on where you live, the alcohol available in your area can vary a bit.

So talk to the liquor store and ask for an Irish style or substitute for Jameson Whiskey.

What Is A Honey Simple Syrup

This honey simple syrup is a great way to sweeten co*cktails with natural sugar. It is very easy to make a honey simple syrup. Or you can head to the store and buy a simple syrup to replace it.

1. Add one cup of water with one cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of honey, and bring it to a boil in a saucepan.
2. Keep stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cover with a tight-fitting lid, steep for ten minutes.

Set aside until you’re ready to use.

Can You Make This Jameson co*cktail In Advance

This easy Jameson and Elderflower co*cktail is best to make before serving.

You will find that the drink separates a bit and will become watered down if you make it too far in advance.

Why Do You Mash Cucumbers For co*cktail

Using a muddler for the cucumbers is going to help release some of the juice from the cucumbers.

This will add a nice smooth flavor and a pop of color to your drink.

You will love this hint of fresh cucumber in this co*cktail. It helps level out the sweetness of the drink.

St. Patrick’s Day co*cktail idea:

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces of Jameson Whiskey, Jameson Casemates, or Jameson Black
• 3 slices of cucumber
• 0.5-ounce Elderflower Liqueur
• 0.75 ounce Fresh Lemon Juice
• 0.75-ounce honey simple syrup
• Ice Cubes

Type of Glass: A standard whiskey or rocks glass

Directions:

1. Into a shaking tin, drop in two (2) slices of cucumber, and mash the cucumbers using a muddler.
2. Add Whiskey, Elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, simple syrup, and lots of ice.
3. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds.
4. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.
5. Garnish with a wheel of fresh cucumber.
6. Serve.
7. Drink responsibly and never drink and drive.

The equipment we recommend:

Standard Whiskey Glass

co*cktail Shaker

Muddler

Jigger

Measuring Cup

Stainless Steel co*cktail Sticks

Other St. Patrick’s Drinks to buy

Cheers to a great St. Patrick’s Day weekend! Be sure to grab the recipe for our Grasshopper co*cktail as well!

St. Patrick’s Day co*cktail to try: St. Germaine Grasshopper

Salted Caramel Irish Coffee

Lime Shamrock Punch

Make Your Own Shamrock Shake Copycat Recipe

Created 3/2016 | Updated 2/2023