Most St. Paddy's Day drink menus are an afterthought. Green food coloring in a domestic lager. A shot of something syrupy. Maybe a lukewarm Guinness if you're lucky.

We don't do that at Tennessee Hills.

This year, our St. Paddy's Weekend stretched across all 3 locations with a lineup of cocktails and seasonal brews built from our own spirits, our own beer, and a few deliberate choices that come down to chemistry as much as creativity. Here's what we poured, why it worked, and how to get your hands on the bottles to try it at home (no need to wait until next year).

The Callahan Slammer: Bourbon Meets Danny's Irish Stout (and Doesn't Flinch)

The classic Irish Slammer–sometimes called an Irish Car Bomb (out of respect for the Irish heritage [and ours], don't call it that, by the way) or Dublin Drop–is a bar staple during St. Paddy's season. The traditional version drops a shot of Irish whiskey and cream liqueur into a pint of stout. It's fun. It's fast. And if you wait too long to drink it, the whole thing curdles into something you'd rather not think about.

Our version, the Callahan Slammer, swaps the usual suspects for Tennessee Hills Green Label Bourbon, our Tiramisu Cream Liqueur and Danny's Irish Stout, brewed in-house.

The build: Pour a half-pint of Danny's Irish Stout. Drop a shot that's half Tennessee Hills Green Label Bourbon and half Tennessee Hills Tiramisu Cream Liqueur. And sláinte! 

Why It Works (and Why Speed Matters)

Here's the science. Stout is acidic, sitting around a pH of 4.5. Cream liqueur contains casein, the primary protein in dairy. When the pH of a dairy-containing liquid drops below 5.5, those casein micelles lose their negative electrical charge. They stop repelling each other. They clump. That's curdling.

So why does the Callahan Slammer taste smooth instead of chunky? Two reasons.

First, you drink it fast. The cream liqueur and stout don't sit together long enough for significant protein denaturation. Second, our Tiramisu Cream Liqueur has a high fat content, which insulates the casein proteins from the acid. Fat acts as a buffer. More fat, less curdling, more time before the texture turns.

The Green Label Bourbon adds another layer. At 90 proof, it brings heat and oak-forward sweetness that cuts through the roasted malt bitterness of the stout. Where a traditional Irish Slammer leans heavy on the cream, ours balances three distinct flavor profiles: the roasted chocolate and coffee notes of Danny's Irish Stout, the espresso-and-cocoa richness of the Tiramisu Cream Liqueur, and the caramel and charred oak character of the Green Label Bourbon.

It's no party trick. It's a cocktail that earns its complexity.

The Mint to Be Irish: A Cocktail That Thinks Like a Dessert

This one turned heads all weekend. The Mint to Be Irish is built on Tennessee Hills Wheated Vodka, Tiramisu Cream Liqueur, mint syrup, and Hershey's Chocolate Syrup.
If that sounds like a liquid Thin Mint cookie, you're not far off. But the construction is more intentional than it looks.

The Role of Wheated Vodka

Most vodkas are distilled from corn, rye, or potatoes. Ours is a wheated vodka, which means the grain bill leans on soft winter wheat. The result is a spirit with a rounder, softer mouthfeel and less of the sharp ethanol bite you get from rye-heavy vodkas. That softness matters in a cream cocktail because it lets the dairy and mint flavors sit forward without getting buried by heat.

Why Mint and Chocolate Play So Well Together

There's actual flavor science behind the mint-chocolate pairing. Menthol (the compound that makes mint taste "cool") activates TRPM8 receptors on the tongue, the same receptors that respond to cold temperatures (you may recall that lesson from our Winter Cocktail Menu story). Your brain interprets this as a cooling sensation, which contrasts with the warm, bitter compounds in chocolate (primarily theobromine). That contrast creates what food scientists call "dynamic sensory contrast," and it's the reason mint chocolate chip ice cream, Thin Mints, and the Mint to Be Irish all trigger the same satisfaction response.

The Tiramisu Cream Liqueur brings body and a cocoa-espresso depth that grounds the sweetness. Without it, this drink would be a milkshake. With it, the flavor profile has weight and finish. Boom!

Danny's Irish Stout and Callahan's Irish Red: Perfect for the Weekend

Not everything on the St. Paddy's menu was a cocktail. Danny's Irish Stout anchored the lineup as both a standalone pour and a key ingredient in the Callahan Slammer.

And then there's Callahan's Irish Red.

This is an Irish Red Ale in the traditional style: 6.2% ABV, 26 IBU, 15 SRM. The malt sweetness is balanced by noble hop additions, with a hint of stone fruit flavor from the English ale yeast. It's a style that doesn't shout. The color comes from kilned malt, not food dye. The body is medium, the finish is clean, and it drinks like something you'd find in a proper pub in Kilkenny rather than a chain restaurant on March 17th.

For anyone tired of "green beer" (although we had that, too!), Callahan's Irish Red is the antidote. The 15 SRM rating puts it squarely in the amber-to-copper range, which means the red is earned through the brewing process, not added after the fact.

The Full St. Paddy's Lineup

Beyond the headliners, the weekend also featured Green Sunrise In The Hills (gotta have the green beer on deck), Callahan Slammers, Sour Green Apple shots, Danny's Irish Stew (our take on a Guinness Stew), and a classic (and amazing) Fish & Chips.

This is what St. Paddy's looks like when a distillery/brewstillery builds the whole thing from scratch. No contracted beer. No outsourced spirits. Every drink on the special menu traced back to something made on our own equipment, by our own people.

Find Tennessee Hills Spirits Near You

Want to recreate the Callahan Slammer or the Mint to Be Irish at home? We just launched the Product Finder on our website. Plug in your location and it'll show you which retailers carry Tennessee Hills spirits in your area.

Tennessee law doesn't allow us to ship spirits directly to your door just yet. But the Product Finder bridges that gap. It's the fastest way to locate our Green Label Bourbon, Tiramisu Cream Liqueur, Wheated Vodka, and the rest of the lineup without driving directly to us (though we'd love to see you if you do).

Find Tennessee Hills Spirits Near You →

Book a Tour. Taste the Difference.

The best way to understand what makes Tennessee Hills different is to walk through the door. Our tours and tastings run at all 3 locations, and you'll get to taste spirits that you can't find anywhere else, straight from the source.

St. Paddy's Weekend is one weekend. But the copper stills, the heritage, and the craft are here year-round.

Book Your Tour Today →

Tennessee Hills Distillery operates locations in Bristol, Jonesborough, and Johnson City, Tennessee. We're the largest privately-owned brewing and distillation company in the U.S., built on 11 generations of Appalachian craft heritage. Come visit. Stay rowdy. #ResponsiblyRowdy