The Shamrock Shake is a seasonal green
mint
Mint or The Mint may refer to:
Plants
* Lamiaceae, the mint family
** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint"
Coins and collectibles
* Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins
* Mint condition, a state of like-new ...
flavored
milkshake
A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or fruit syrup into a thick, sweet, cold mixture. It may ...
dessert sold at some
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
restaurants during March to celebrate
St. Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.
Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chri ...
in the US, Canada and Ireland.
Origin
Hal Rosen, a McDonald's owner and operator from Connecticut, created the first Shamrock Shake in 1967.
Three years later, in 1970, the Shamrock Shake debuted in select locations in the United States.
Rogers Merchandising in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
created the shake. Initially, the shake was lemon/lime flavored with vanilla ice cream, lemon/lime sherbet, and vanilla syrup. By 1973, the shake was merely a green colored vanilla shake, eliminating the lemon/lime sherbet. It is now mint flavored.
Shamrock Shakes are sold at select U.S.
and Canadian stores during the months of February and March,
as well as in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
.
In March 2025, the Shamrock Shake was introduced into the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, also meaning that the whole of Ireland can now get it.
The creation of the Ronald McDonald House
In 1974, the daughter of a Philadelphia Eagles player was being treated for leukemia.
With the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, McDonald's founder Ray Kroc, the Philadelphia Eagles, and Hal Rosen, her family raised the funds from Shamrock Shake sales necessary to create the first
Ronald McDonald house.
Advertising
Starting in 1975, McDonald's used the Uncle O'Grimacey character (a relative of
Grimace who came to visit in March) to market Shamrock Shakes. The character is described as a green Grimace that wears a green cob hat, a shillelagh, and a vest with shamrocks on them. Sometime in around the mid-1980s, McDonald's phased out Uncle O'Grimacey from their mascot lineup.
In 1980, McDonald's introduced the Shamrock Sundae which consisted of vanilla ice cream topped with a mint green Shamrock syrup. The product was discontinued after one year due to poor sales.
In 2017, McDonald's introduced a few variants of the Shamrock Shake including the Shamrock Chocolate Shake, the Shamrock Chocolate Chip Frappé, the Shamrock Mocha, and the Shamrock Hot Chocolate.
In 2025, McDonald's would bring back the Uncle O'Grimacey character, as well as offer the Shamrock Shake in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK for the first time.
See also
*
Grimace Shake
The Grimace Shake is a berry-flavored milkshake that was first sold at McDonald's restaurants in the United States, from June 12, 2023, to July 9, 2023, to celebrate the 52nd birthday of Grimace, the purple monster mascot from McDonaldland. ...
References
External links
*
McCafé Shamrock Shake official nutrition page
{{McDonald's,
Products introduced in 1967
McDonald's foods
Cold drinks
Milkshakes
Non-alcoholic drinks
Mint drinks
Ice cream drinks
Irish-American cuisine
Saint Patrick's Day