Most holidays are celebrated with festive snacks and treats, but St. Patrick’s Day is much more of a drink holiday. For many, that means Irish coffee or a pint of beer, but for me, it has been and will always be the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake. The bright green milkshake is McDonald’s most iconic holiday drink, available this year until March 23rd, and it was a staple of my childhood. I’d wait all year for the frozen treat — reaching Shamrock Shake season was like finally making it to the end of the rainbow and finding a pot of gold. So I was pretty surprised to learn that this shake has haters. Honestly, all I can do with this information is feel bad for them. It’s so unlucky to not be able to enjoy and appreciate the leprechaun-fueled, artificially minty magic of the Shamrock Shake. The Shamrock Shake rocks and it’s time to break down and debunk the hate behind this holiday shake.
“The bright green color is unappetizing.”
Before even taking a sip, people have a bone to pick with the Shamrock Shake’s appearance. They think the green is too extreme, making the shake look unappetizing. But the color is just part of the shake’s (lucky) charm. It’s fun and festive, spreading St. Patrick’s Day cheer. We dye entire rivers green for the holiday, so why not dye the Shamrock Shake a bold green color to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? We also color all kinds of foods for other holidays, like orange for Halloween or red for Christmas, so having the shake be this bright green is a way to get in the spirit of the holiday. Festive treats can and should be fun, and the Shamrock Shake’s bright color truly embraces the festive joy.
“The Shamrock Shake is too sweet.”
It’s a milkshake — of course, it’s sweet. And it should be! Desserts are delicious because they’re sugary and sprinkle sweetness into our lives, and the Shamrock Shake is no exception. Its minty sweetness satisfies the sweet tooth and gives people a sugary, festive treat to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with.
Yes, St. Patrick’s Day is traditionally celebrated with alcohol or savory Irish meals like corned beef and cabbage or meaty stew. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t enjoy delicious sweets for the holiday. Holidays are times to celebrate and enjoy ourselves and the sugary quality of the Shamrock Shake lets drinkers do exactly that. Personally, a pint of Shamrock Shake sounds like the best way to celebrate the holiday because it’s like drinking liquid gold.
“The shake’s minty flavor is artificial.”
Does the Shamrock Shake taste a little bit artificial? Oh yeah. I’m not here to pretend that the Shamrock Shake is real, quality mint ice cream. The shake is concocted with McDonald’s signature vanilla soft serve and mysterious “Shamrock Shake syrup” that gives the shake’s signature minty flavor and green color. This makes the shake Shamrock-flavored rather than mint-flavored, giving the shake a pungent minty flavor that has a slightly weird, artificial aftertaste as opposed to mint ice cream’s softer, more subdued mint flavor that tastes natural.
The Shamrock flavor is great because it’s its own unique flavor — there’s nothing that tastes exactly like it. It’s very minty but not quite peppermint, which is a good thing because it avoids being reminiscent of Christmas and candy canes. The Shamrock flavor is staunchly a St. Patrick’s Day mint and completely its own thing that no other chains that serve milkshakes can replicate or beat.
The Shamrock Shake has an artificial charm that is irresistible, and the weirdness of the Shamrock syrup is what makes the shake good. If the shake were mint ice cream, it would be just another mint ice cream milkshake. It’s precisely because of the Shamrock syrup that the shake stands out as something deliciously different. The shake shouldn’t be put down just because it’s a flavored syrup and not real mint ice cream. Instead, it should be appreciated for what it is — delicious, minty, artificial goodness in milkshake form, perfect for St. Patrick’s Day.
This festive shake is a winner, winner, leprechaun dinner.
The Shamrock Shake thrives in the realm of the weird. It’s not your average mint ice cream or mint-flavored treat — it’s something else entirely. And that’s what makes it absolutely delightful. I’m not here to argue that it’s the best quality milkshake to ever grace a fast food chain’s menu. No, the Shamrock Shake rocks because the Shamrock flavor is uniquely its own and its sweet, minty, and slightly artificial flavor is as weird as it is delectable. The shake is absolutely in the mischievous spirit of St. Patrick’s Day in both flavor and color and I highly recommend you skip like a leprechaun over to McDonald’s and get one of these festive shakes.
Doing so will do some good for your St. Patrick’s Day spirit and others, as McDonald’s is donating 25 cents for each Shamrock Shake sold to Ronald McDonald House Charities.