where to drink on Saint Paddy's

19 Houston restaurants & bars celebrating Saint Paddy's Day with food & drink specials

This Sunday will be hectic for Houstonians. Not only is it the last day of both Spring Break and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, but March 17 is, of course, St. Patrick's Day.

As we all know from The Boondock Saints, everyone's Irish on Saint Paddy's. Celebrating the holiday isn't mandatory, but it is encouraged.

While this publication would never tell anyone how to spend their time — although we do offer suggestions on a weekly basis — it's easy to think of worse ways then heading to NRG Park for one last turkey leg at the rodeo carnival followed by visiting any of the restaurants and bars listed below for a little Irish cheer.

Not saying. Just saying.

B.B. Lemon will be inviting Houstonians to eat, drink, and be Irish for an all-day, St. Patrick’s Day soiree. Guests will enjoy Irish dancers, bagpipers, green beer, and whiskey specials. They’ll also be launching new menu items. 11 am.

BoomerJack's Webster, which opened last month, has some amazing drink specials on Saturday and Sunday. Guests can enjoy $4 Jamesons, $4 Guinness, $4 green tea shots, $5 Irish car bombs, and $2 Jell-O shots. 11 am.

Tex-Mex hotspot Candente will celebrate St. Paddy’s Day with their margarita of the month, The Spicy Duende (aka The Spicy Leprechaun). It has Socorro Blanco tequila, Midori, lime juice, pineapple juice, sliced fresh jalapeno, and a dash of fire water. 11 am.

Christian’s Tailgate Bar & Grill will be participating in St. Patty’s Day pub crawls at both their Heights and Midtown locations. Both events will feature $2 Jell-O shots, $5 shamrock margaritas, and $7 Irish car bombs.

Conservatory Galleria will be serving a speciality cocktail the weekend of St. Patrick’s Day. Guests can enjoy the “St. Paddy’s Paradise,” made with Paddy’s Irish Whiskey, Midori, lemonade, and Tajin for $10. 11 am.

Over at Eight Row Flint Heights, guests can bring their dancing shoes and enjoy a live DJ from 6-10 pm. The bar will also be serving Guinness and Paddy’s Old Irish Whiskey specials. 11 am.

On Saturday and Sunday, EZ’s Liquor Lounge will be throwing a parking lot party with live music and specals on both Guinness and Tullamore Dew. A local bagpipe band will also be bringing some Irish tunes to the crowd in the afternoon. 11 am.

FM Kitchen & Bar will ensure you don’t get pinched with $4 draft green beer, or make it a combo with a $10 green beer and Tullamore Dew boilermakers. Hang out all day and enjoy $5 Happy Dad seltzers. 11 am.

Heights & Co. will be boasting a “Spring Leprechaun'' cocktail, made with rum, lemon, lime, stone fruit, and of course, a drop of coloring to make it green. Other green options include a green beer for $4 and their popular Mini Hulk Smash for $13. Noon.

Heights Bier Garden will host a Saint Patrick's Day Shenanigans Party. Enjoy live music with Bourbon Street Band from 2-5 pm, and DJ Jimmy Jamz from 6-10 pm. They will have a full menu, as well as green beer and drink specials provided by Tullamore Dew. 11 am.

King’s BierHaus will have an all-out St. Paddy’s Day party at both locations (Lazybrook/Timbergrove and League City) on Saturday and Sunday. We’re talking $5 half-liter beer specials, a St. Paddy’s food/drink menu, Irish whiskey and shotski specials, a crawfish boil, live music, and free Astros tickets every hour. 11 am.

Stop by any Kirby Ice House to sip and savor green beer or take the festivities to the next level with $4 Jameson shots from 7 pm until close. And every TV in the house will be tuned in to college basketball. 11 am.

The newly relocated LIttle Woodrow’s EaDo will pay homage to the space's history as Lucky's Pub with a three-day, St. Patrick’s fest, starting on Friday. We’re talking live music and DJs, bagpiper performances, crawfish, food vendors, and food trucks. Plus, 50-cents from every green Bud Light sold will be donated to Bregman Cares, the nonprofit started by Astros star Alex Bregman that's devoted to autism awareness. Noon.

Courtesy of BB Lemon

B.B. Lemon will have green beer and bagpipers.

The Locker Room Sports Bar & Grill, located in Third Ward across from Texas Southern University, invites folks to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with $5 green beer, $7 Jameson shots, and $7 green tea shots, all while watching the NCAA March Madness Selection Day. 11 am.

Over at Lyric Market in downtown, enjoy live music and grab a St. Paddy’s Day-inspired cocktail or green beer from Lyric Bar before watching the Downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday. Parking is complimentary in the Lyric Garage with a food or drink purchase. 11 am.

Pier 6 Seafood & Oyster House will toast to Ireland with a patio party featuring live music, entertainment, and a featured Jameson lemonade. Throw on your green attire and take in chefs Joe Cervantez and Lexy Garcia’s menu of fresh-caught, tide-to-table fare. 11 am.

Pitch 25 will feature a special St. Patrick’s Day cocktail: "Los San Patricios de Pitch 25." It’s an homage to the alliance of Mexico and Ireland; both countries fought together and for each other during the Mexican-American War. 11 am.

Pluckers Wing Bar, known for its plethora of famous sauces, delicious wings, and wide variety of beers, is offering green beer all day long on St. Patrick’s Day. Additionally, they will be offering $1 off cocktails including the lucky green classic, The Psychedelic Frog. 11 am.

Head to The Upside Pub in Garden Oaks for $5 green beer, $3 green Jell-O shots, and $7 Jameson shots. Take the edge off with an order of Irish Pub Skins — fried potato skins topped with corned beef, bacon, sour cream, and green onions. 11:30 am.

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cheers to that

Texas bourbon named one of 2024's top 10 whiskies

Still Austin Whiskey Co. Red Corn Bourbon Whiskey

Still Austin Whiskey Co./Facebook

Now if only we could snag a bottle...as a Christmas gift, of course.

Three cheers for Still Austin Whiskey Co.! The distillery's Bottled in Bond Red Corn Bourbon Whiskey was recognized as one of Whisky Advocate'sTop 20 Most Exciting Whiskies of 2024.

Every year, Whisky Advocate's expert panelists rank hundreds of whiskies based on their quality, availability, value for the price, and "X-factor," meaning an excitement-inducing component like a unique flavor or an innovative idea. An international panel also reviews contenders through several blind taste tests without knowing each whisky's producer, origin, age, or price.

The magazine ranked Still Austin's five-year Red Corn Bourbon No. 7 on the list with a prestigious score of 94 points. The Red Corn whiskey, which was released in June 2024, has mash bill consisting of 36 percent Jimmy Red corn, 34 percent white corn, 25 percent rye, and 5 percent barley.

According to panelist Shane English, tasting notes start big and bold with cracked pepper, dusty leather, and cocktail cherries, before moving on to a palate of chile pepper, caramel, and buttery cornbread.

"Each sip is electric — the pepper gives this whiskey a zing balanced by poundcake and glazed doughnuts," English said. "Charred oak fades to chocolate, coffee, and pecan pie on the finish."

Still Austin had the only Texas product on the list, which was fitting given the brand's recent boasting that it could match any Kentucky Bourbon. As a game day stunt when the Texas Longhorns played the Kentucky Wildcats in November, Still Austin refilled empty Kentucky Bourbon bottles with its own Cask Strength Bourbon for just $1.

When the brand isn't playfully antagonizing Kentucky fans, its Red Corn Bourbon sells for a retail price of $85 per 750-milliliter bottle, falling nearly in the middle of the price category out of all 20 bourbons on the list, with eight others priced for less.

For additional context, none of the top five bourbons fall under a $100 price tag. In fact, the most expensive bottle on the 2024 list is the Angel's Envy 2023 Cask Strength Port Wine Barrel Finished Bourbon, which ranked No. 12 and retails for $230 per bottle.

"Our top 20 whiskies represent a curated collection that deserves your attention. Each whisky on the list stands out for its superb taste, representing the pinnacle of a year filled with remarkable tastings," said executive editor David Fleming in a release. "This list features whiskies offering exceptional value, leaders in their respective styles, and superbly made expressions that are well worth seeking out."

Whiskey Advocate's 2024 Whiskey of the Year is Laphroaig Elements 2.0 Cask Strength Scotch Single Malt, which earned 95 points and retails for $165 a bottle.

whiskey bourbon distilleries awards lists