Green Irish Sunrise Cocktail (with Vodka) for St. Patrick’s Day
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Are you looking for a fun and festive St. Patrick’s Day Cocktail? If so, you’ll love this green Irish Sunrise Cocktail! It’s made with vodka and green apple liqueur and is refreshing and delicious. So ditch the boring old green beer and give this green cocktail a try instead!
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Irish Sunrise Cocktail
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions and ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required and understand the steps and timings involved.
It’s St. Patrick’s Day and a time for all of us to be Irish for the day! A jovial celebration that people love to join in with on March 17th!
This Irish Sunrise Cocktail is, of course, a lush green color, which comes from the green apple liqueur, as well as the mixing of Blue Curaçao, orange juice, and sweet and sour mix.
The other alcoholic element is potato-based vodka.
Vodka is traditionally made by distilling liquid from fermented cereal grains, but potatoes have been used more recently. If you can’t find potato-based Vodka, then, by all means, use your preferred brand.
As always, I’ve provided a mocktail version, which you’ll find at the end of the post, as well as how to make a big batch of this green cocktail for your St. Patrick’s Day crowd!
Don’t have time for this cocktail now? Be sure to tap the heart icon in the bottom right of the screen to save this post for later!
Ingredients Used In This Cocktail
For your convenience, I’ve linked any specialized ingredients needed for this recipe to Amazon below.
- Green Apple Liqueur – such as Sourz Green Apple, or Volare Sour Apple
- Potato-based Vodka – or you can use a regular vodka
- Blue Curaçao – an orange-flavored liqueur with blue coloring added
- Orange Juice
- Sweet & Sour Mix
- Garnish Choices – mint, orange slices, maraschino cherries, lime slices
This cocktail is shaken, but don’t worry if you don’t have a cocktail shaker, you could just use a container with a tight-fitting lid – like a mason jar or even the cup on a blender or smoothie maker.
More St. Patrick’s Day Cocktails To Make
Want to make more cocktails for St. Patrick’s Day? I think you’re going to love these ones:
- Irish Whiskey Milk Punch Cocktail (Scáiltín) – St. Patrick’s Day Drink!
- Luck of The Irish Cocktail – A Grand Green Cocktail for St. Patrick’s Day!
- Pumpkin Spice Irish Coffee with Baileys Irish Cream
Irish Sunrise Variations
I like to try and give variations on the cocktails shared on The Purple Pumpkin Blog, like how to turn the cocktail into a mocktail so that non-drinkers (and kids if suitable) can enjoy the drink too!
Virgin Irish Sunrise Mocktail (Non-Alcoholic)
So that non-drinkers can enjoy this green Irish cocktail we simply remove the alcohol and replace it! In a cocktail shaker, shake together:
- 1 oz Green Apple Syrup
- 1 oz Blue Curaçao Syrup
- 2 oz Orange Juice
- 2 oz Sweet & Sour Mix or top up with Lemon-Lime Soda to make a longer drink.
I love the Monin brand of syrups as there are lots of flavors and they are a very versatile ingredient that can be used in cocktails, mocktails, coffee, cocoa, shakes, smoothies, and more.
I haven’t made the mocktail version, so I recommend adding the syrups to taste as they may add a sweetness that you may not necessarily get from alcoholic liqueurs.
For adults who would still like to enjoy the taste of alcohol in their mocktail, you could try Strykk no Vodka – available from their website directly in the UK. For my international readers, I found a non-alcoholic Apple Vodka on Amazon that would work well in this cocktail. Simply add 1oz of the alcohol-free vodka to the ingredients above.
Frozen Irish Sunrise
Want to turn this Irish Sunrise into a frozen slushie? Easy! Put all the ingredients in a blender with a generous amount of crushed ice – then blend till smooth. Serve with a straw, and watch out for brain freeze! You could do the same with the mocktail version too.
Irish Sunrise Cocktail For a Crowd!
Want to make a big batch of this green cocktail for a party or gathering? It’s so easy!
As long as you use the same measuring container (glass, cup, jug, etc.,) for the “1 part”, the ratios will be correct and you can make as much as you need to.
Serve the large batch cocktail in drinks dispensers, pitchers, or go really retro and serve from a punch bowl! Whichever container best suits your event (and the drink!).
Make sure you add plenty of ice to your serving receptacle of choice to keep the cocktail chilled. And you can add some of the fruit garnish in there too such as mint sprigs, orange slices, maraschino cherries, and/or lime slices.
Why not skewer the fruit onto cocktail picks for guests to garnish their drink?
When setting up your bar serving area, included cocktail glasses, cocktail napkins, a filled ice bucket, cocktail stirrers, and themed cocktail decorations if suitable!
To make a big batch of Irish Sunrise, mix together:
- 1 part Green Apple Liqueur
- 1 part Potato-based Vodka
- 1 part Blue Curaçao
- 2 parts Orange Juice
- 2 parts Sweet & Sour mix
This cocktail recipe is intended for adults of the legal drinking age in your country of residence.
Please drink responsibly. Do not drink and drive.
How Do I Make An Irish Sunrise Cocktail?
Check out the printable recipe card below with full ingredients and instructions. Any demonstration photos do not print out to save your ink.
Irish Sunrise Cocktail
Are you looking for a fun and festive drink to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? If so, you'll love this green Irish Sunrise Cocktail!
Ingredients
- 1 oz Green Apple Liqueur
- 1 oz Potato-based Vodka
- 1 oz Blue Curaçao
- 2 oz Orange Juice
- 2 oz Sweet & Sour mix
To Garnish (optional)
- Mint
- Orange Slices
- Maraschino Cherries
- Lime Slices.
Instructions
- Place the Apple Liqueur, Vodka, Blue Curaçao, orange juice, and sweet & sour mix into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
- Shake vigorously to combine.
- Pour into a glass filled with ice.
- Garnish as desired.
- Enjoy and Happy St. Patrick's Day!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 396Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 13mgCarbohydrates: 64gFiber: 4gSugar: 44gProtein: 2g
This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated nutrition. Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Make It A Meal!
The beverage is covered, but what about other dishes to make this recipe into a full meal? Here are my suggestions!
- Appetizer: Spicy Sweet Potato Wedges with Herbed Coconut Yogurt Dip
- Soup: Leek & Potato Soup
- Salad: Roasted Golden Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
- Main Dish: Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day
- Side Dish: Easy Soda Bread
- Dessert: End of the Rainbow Pot of Gold Cupcakes for St. Patrick’s Day
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy! Please feel free to check them out too.