The True Origin of the Shamrock Shake
By: Nora Kushnier
Just because the groundhog predicted six more weeks of winter, doesn’t mean you can stop down to your local McDonalds to get a frozen seasonal treat. The Shamrock Shake has been loved by families all over the nation since 1967, but few know it’s true origins. Hal Rosen, a McDonalds owner of a Connecticut location, decided to celebrate the culture of Irish Americans with a seasonal dessert for St. Paddies Day. Originally a Lemon/Lime flavored sherbert and ice cream hybrid, the drink began to grow in popularity come the early 70s. By 1973, the drink lost its citrus flavored and became merely a vanilla shake dyed green. This caused upset to many parents, as they complained about the increased price for essentially the same product as the classic vanilla shake. Trying to boost advertisement for this new delicacy, McDonalds created a mascot, Uncle O’Grimacey in 1975. However, around the same time the drink gained its mint flavor, the mascot was also discontinued. Now families in the US, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and UK can enjoy this dessert from February-March.
