It's time for St. Patrick's Day, and with that comes a traditional limited-time drink from McDonald's, the Shamrock Shake.
The Shamrock Shake was brought to market by McDonald's in the 1980s. It essentially is a vanilla shake with some mint flavoring brought out around St. Patrick's Day. For a while it was sold alongside a ice cream sundae with mint-flavored topping as well. It was a big deal back then; not so much today.
McDonald's went out of their way to advertise the shake, including using the McDonaldland characters. In one commercial, Ronald McDonald and Grimace meet Uncle O'Grimacey, an "Irish" character whose entire purpose was to promote the coming of Shamrock Shakes:
More adult-oriented advertising was also used to promote the St. Patrick's Day favorite:
Over time, it's been rumored that the formula for the Shamrock Shake changed, with Internet opinion hinting that the flavor now is worse than the original. I never had the chance to try an original version, so I cannot personally confirm if that's the case.
Today, Shamrock Shakes are harder to find. They are no longer widely promoted by the Golden Arches, and their distribution does not seem to be universal. Fortunately, I was able to find one at a nearby McDonald's location… so I ordered the small (12 oz.) version.
The color of the shake is white with a hint of green. Unless you take the time to mix the green "mint" syrup into the vanilla shake, it remains primarily white. As for the flavor, it starts out mintish, more along the lines of a mouthwash like Scope. It's tolerable and hints that "yes, this shake is supposed to be mint." However, the aftertaste is where things go bad, evidencing the syrup/powder flavoring used in the mix. It's just not very good at this point. Overall, the mint experience is weak, and combined with the poor aftertaste, the Shamrock Shake is really something that should not be partaken beyond the first few sips.
As for what's actually in this thing, the official nutritional information from McDonald's website itemizes the following:
Vanilla Reduced Fat Ice Cream
Milk, sugar, cream, nonfat milk solids, corn syrup solids, mono- and diglycerides, guar gum, dextrose, sodium citrate, artificial vanilla flavor, sodium phosphate, carrageenan, disodium phosphate, cellulose gum, vitamin A palmitate.Shamrock Shake Syrup
High fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, sugar, natural flavor (plant source), xanthan gum, citric acid, sodium benzoate (preservative), yellow 5, blue 1.
The 12 oz. drink that I had contains 420 calories (yikes!), including 6 g of saturated fat, 40 mg of cholesterol, 125 mg of sodium, and 72 g of carbs.
Overall, I'm not impressed with the current Shamrock Shake experience. Maybe it was great back during its early years, but no so much today!
I used to LOVE the Shamrock Shake and look forward to it every year… though its been a few years, now you have me nervous to try it again, but I will and will post what I thought. I know some people just don't like mint stuff; CM speaker/writer Aaron Reynold's said at a conference we hosted, "My least favorite thing in the world is mint flavored stuff and people who like mint flavored stuff." So don't ask him about the Shamrock Shake!
Yes, it used to be better. Like, before Triple-Thick was ever introduced. Now it's way too sweet, and way too thick.
Wow, that is different from the rest of the milkshakes I have seen.
I tried a Shamrock Shake today and was deeply disappointed in the taste and grossly sweet immitation mint flavor. Nothing like the flavor of years gone by. I think it was 5 years ago in MN that I had the first one, but the one today in Tucson, AZ was really disgusting! I guess to get duplication of flavor I like and have yearly consistency means I have to make my own at home!!! Sorry McDonalds but you can not skimp on flavor if you want to keep your customers!!!
I first had the Shamrock Shake in the early 80's…I realize I was a kid then, but I remember loving it and thinking nothing had ever tasted so good. I tried to get one every year after that, but hadn't had one in a number of years. This year, I did get one, and I have to agree – I don't think they are as good as they used to be. Something changed, but I can't really pinpoint what. I think they used to be creamier…
I love the Shamrock Shake! Just had one last week!
Actually, shamrock shakes first appeared at McDonald's much earlier than "the 1980s."
I remember awaiting them each year as a youngster, and while I can't put an exact year on it, it was definitely in the 1970s.
A quick Web search confirms this, with several sites saying it appeared in 1970.
I think the last one I had was about 1977. I don't remember it actually being anything other than a vanilla shake with green coloring, but I could be wrong on the flavor details.
The Shamrock Shake wasn't very good while I worked there (2003-2007) during vacation time from college. IMO it should be replaced with the Minty Mudbath shake they had during the Shrek 3 promotion, which honest to god tasted like you were drinking Thin Mint gitl scout cookies. Now THOSE were some delicious milkshakes.