Jump to content

Shamrock Shake

Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shamrock Shake
A customer's Shamrock Shake sitting on a table at a McDonald's in 2012
OwnerMcDonald's
CountryUnited States, Canada, Ireland
Introduced1967 (Connecticut)
1970 (select US locations)

The Shamrock Shake is a seasonal green mint flavored milkshake dessert sold at some McDonald's restaurants during March to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in the US, Canada and Ireland.

Origin

Hal Rosen, a McDonald's owner and operator from Connecticut, created the first Shamrock Shake in 1967.[1][2] Three years later, in 1970, the Shamrock Shake debuted in select locations in the United States.[3] Rogers Merchandising in Chicago 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.[4]

Shamrock Shakes are sold at select U.S.[5] and Canadian stores during the months of February and March,[3] as well as in Ireland.[6]

The creation of the Ronald McDonald House

In 1974, the daughter of a Philadelphia Eagles player was being treated for leukemia.[7] 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.[8][9]

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.[10] According to Bryan Bierman in a PhillyVoice article written in 2017, the character was phased out due to having "controversial ties with the IRA."[11][12]

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.[5]

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.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "10 Fun Facts You Probably Didn't Know About The Shamrock Shake®". McDonald's Corporation. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  2. ^ Broderick, Neala (2023-03-17). "Give McDonald's Shamrock Shake The Respect It Deserves". TastingTable. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  3. ^ a b Huguenin, Patrick (2007-03-16). "Shamrock Shake Shocker: It's Disappeared!". The New York Daily News. p. 46. Archived from the original on 2009-03-16. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  4. ^ "People Are Really Excited That McDonald's Shamrock Shakes Are Back". Travel & Leisure.
  5. ^ a b "Ultimate Shamrock Shake Guide". Gluttoner. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  6. ^ "McDonald's mint flavoured Shamrock Shake returns to Irish stores". Irish Mirror. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  7. ^ "10 Fun Facts You Probably Didn't Know About The Shamrock Shake®". McDonald's Corporation. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  8. ^ "10 Fun Facts You Probably Didn't Know About The Shamrock Shake®". McDonald's Corporation. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  9. ^ Madrigal-Yankowski, Nico (2024-02-08). "McDonald's drops Shamrock Shake 2 weeks earlier than expected". SFGATE. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  10. ^ Caldwell, Sophie (2023-07-10). "Into the Grimaceverse: Who is Uncle O'Grimacey?". TODAY. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  11. ^ O'Shea, Kerry (2024-03-12). "Who was Uncle O'Grimacey and was he really in the IRA?". Irish Central. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  12. ^ Dunn, Thom (2023-03-10). "Did McDonald's change their Shamrock Shake mascot because of the IRA?". Boing Boing. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  13. ^ Saelinger, Tracy (13 March 2017). "McDonald's has 4 new chocolaty Shamrock Shakes and we tried them all". Retrieved 2019-02-21.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shamrock_Shake&oldid=1238380977"