St. Patrick's Day is upon us and with it comes a seemingly never-ending supply of Irish themed drinks--Irish Car Bombs, green beer, shots of Jameson--green outfits and stumbling party goers. This made us wonder--why do we make our drinks green on St. Patrick's Day? Is it simply because of the festive color or is there some other tradition behind it?The origin of green beer can be traced back to New York City in 1914 (check out our article "The History Of Green Beer" for more information) and other traditions, such as the Leprechaun, can be traced even further back. But the tradition we believe to have lead to green colored drinks is the Irish tradition of adding a clover to your drink for good luck.
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The Irish are known to have added a clover to their beer and/or whiskey then drinking it, clover and all, for good luck. Typically this would have occured before an event in which they needed luck, like a card game or horse race or after an event in which luck was with them, like winning a good bar brawl. Regardless of the event, the act of putting a clover in one's drink was done to celebrate luck.
So this St. Patrick's Day make anything you decide to drink "Irish." Not the atypical green beer or whiskey kind of Irish, but truly Irish by dropping a clover into your drink and slurping it down clover and all. Can't find a fresh clover in your yard? Head on down to your local nursery and buy a few plants--be sure to keep an eye out for the uber lucky four leaf variety--and make sure you get enough to spread the luck of the Irish with all your friends and family. Sláinte!!
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