St. Patty’s Day ShamROCKS!

In 1631, the Church created a Feast Day to celebrate Saint Patrick. Over 390 years later, Saint Patrick’s Day is still being celebrated. The ways of celebrating, however, are very different. In the 1600s, the day was filled with religious services and feasts. Now, it has become a celebration of Irish culture filled with parades, parties, food, and more. Although it’s not very traditional, every year people look forward to holiday treats from various fast food restaurants. Let’s get into the St. Patty’s Day spirit!

One of the most iconic drinks around this holiday is the shamrock shake from McDonald’s. This is a green minty milkshake that comes out annually. Since these shakes came out in 1970, over 60 million have been sold in the United States. Made from vanilla ice cream and “shamrock shake syrup”, this treat is a fan favorite. “The shamrock shake is my favorite,” says college student Gabby Sharp, “it is a classic and has always been there for me.” This comfort food costs $3.69 for a small, $4.29 for a medium, and $4.79 for a large. McDonald’s also turned this minty flavor into a McFlurry called the oreo shamrock McFlurry.

Another seasonal ice cream flavor that came out this year is the mint brownie blizzard sold at Dairy Queen. This is new in 2022 and is the current blizzard of the month. Made with vanilla soft serve, brownie pieces, and mint flavoring, this is an item that you will want to try. Don’t worry though, Dairy Queen will also be selling their Saint Patrick’s Day drink introduced last year, the mint chip shake. This delicious milkshake has vanilla soft serve, mint flavoring, and chocolate confetti chips. Both these desserts are being sold throughout March. A medium blizzard sells for $4.09 and a medium shake is $3.89.

Dunkin Donuts has also developed its own holiday-themed drink. The Shamrock macchiato is made with espresso and Irish cream flavor. Although it looks pretty with its light green appearance, the flavoring was not our favorite. Separately, the irish cream flavoring and the espresso tasted good. When mixed together, the taste was not so pleasing. We bought a small one at Dunkin for $3.19.

Seasonal drinks are fun annual treats for everyone to enjoy. Every holiday has its own special flavors that many fast food restaurants try to develop. Sometimes they look better than they taste, but it is exciting to anticipate these fun drinks and foods each year.