Yep, I Created A St. Patrick's Day Cocktail

The Banana O’Daiquiri

I rarely create cocktails. And I rarely write about holiday-themed cocktails. So rarely, in fact, that I almost didn’t write about this one. But I figured, what the heck, it’s MY cocktail, it’s got a catchy name, and maybe it’ll serve as some kind of clickbait for this here website. Oh, and did I mention it tastes really good?

The inspiration came from Justin Lavenue, owner of the mighty Roosevelt Room in Austin, who I met a few years ago when I wrote about his competition-winning cocktail, The Poet’s Muse, which is still the best competition cocktail I’ve ever had (link to the article in Robb Report is right -> HERE <-).. I recently wrote an article for which I solicited a cocktail recipe from Justin — recipe and article coming this summer! — and this is basically a riff on what he created. So most of the credit belongs to Mr. Lavenue. But hey, I’ll snag a little glory for myself as well, if only for the name: The Banana O’Daiquiri. And it may be the best St. Patrick’s Day-themed cocktail I’ve ever had. One of the only ones, too. OK, it’s no Irish Coffee, but it beats the heck out of green beer.

Want the recipe? Here you go!

The Banana O’Daiquiri (recipe by me, inspired almost entirely by Justin Lavenue)

.75 oz fresh squeezed lime juice

.75 oz banana liqueur (I used Giffard Banane du Bresil)

.25 oz split of simple syrup and falernum (1/8 oz each, in other words)

2 oz. Irish whiskey (preferably with a rum cask finish; I used West Cork’s 12 year old, but Tullamore D.E.W.’s is cheaper and easier to find)

Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled shaker. Shake well (meaning until it’s cold and all the ingredients are blended), strain into a cocktail or Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with a shamrock, or don’t garnish it at all. I’m usually too lazy to do a nice looking garnish.