Shamrock Shake Returns to Select McDonald's, But Disappoints This Year
[Photograph: McDonald's]
You may notice the seasonal McDonald's menu addition popping back up at select locations: the almighty Shamrock Shake. The St. Patrick's Day promotion is just a green, minty shake, but has inspired a cultish following—some of us have even embarked on an emotional roller coaster to locate it. Thanks to shamrockshake.com though, which lists the latest sightings, the hunt is a little easier.
But this year, maybe we'll be less crazed to chase the shake. According to Kyra Kyles, it's not as minty and comes topped with a mound of whipped cream and cherry:
I'm not going to lie to you and say I didn't drink it all, but disappointment ensued after one sip. I found the whipped cream and cherry a distraction. The mint quotient in this shake was low and the vanilla factor way too high. It was barely even green! This wasn't a Shamrock Shake as I remember it. To paraphrase a Spike Lee film title, I felt sham-boozled.
Sham-boozled?! She went there. But as a true Sham Lover, she persevered, this time ordering another round of shakes sans cream and cherry.
Nope, strike two! This shake was even more vanilla than the first. What in the heck is going on? Talk to me, McDonald's....Are you holding back on the mint to offer the limited menu item longer? Or have you lost the freaking formula somewhere behind the Mac Snack Wrap recipe?
Many of Kyra's readers have agreed, adding gripes. According to one:
McD's milkshake machines don't mix the syrup well. You almost need to stir it up a bit as you can see in the new clear cups how its half syrup and half vanilla sake...Speaking of the cups they are the smaller, "Mc Cafe" cups and no longer the soda cups used before. the plastic cups are much colder to the touch than the 'paper' cups used for soda (and previously for McD's shakes)...I don't care for the whipped cream or cherry either. I saw they are doing that for all shakes. I have them hold those.
This is not good. Have you had one yet this year? Was it a letdown?
Information that you might want to know: a 32-ounce Shamrock Shake contains 1,110 calories and 26 grams of fat, according to the McDonald's website.
Bonus Video: Shamrock Shake Commercial, 1983
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Shamrock Shake in NYC? [Talk]
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23 Comments:
I haven't had one in years, but that is really disappointing to hear.. I probably won't order one again for fear of childhood memories being crushed :)
kellybelly223 at 5:27PM on 02/23/10
Weird, I had one the other day and it came in a paper cup, no whipped cream or cherry, and tasted as yummy as it always has. Perhaps not all the franchises are using these new techniques?
megancake at 5:49PM on 02/23/10
I had almost the opposite opinion this year. My son works at McD's and has brought me a couple home since they came out. They taste like toothpaste this year. Maybe they make them too strong at this McD's but I can't stand them. I was really looking forward to the shamrock shake this year too.
DCLSweetspot at 6:03PM on 02/23/10
So I had my first Shamrock Shake of the season and it was just like it always has been - no whipped cream or a cherry and it was in a normal paper drink cup. Weird. I'm in southern New Hampshire. Must be select locations with the new version....glad mine isn't one of them.
Kerri at 6:57PM on 02/23/10
I put peppermint schnapps into the shamrock shake and stir it to hell with the straw. Seems to work just fine for me. :D
shoneyjoe at 8:26PM on 02/23/10
Shamrock shakes are the first sign of spring! :) I don't care how much my friends (and my husband) make fun of me, I look forward to one every year! Maybe because my birthday is right after St. Patty's Day, so it's always been like a birthday treat to me. I hope the McD's by me gets it right!
dana828 at 8:52PM on 02/23/10
I tried to order one on the way to school tonight and they were SOLD OUT...hello...you are McDonalds...you can't be sold out?
PoorOldMama at 10:23PM on 02/23/10
Mine was the same as always, paper cup, minty and delicious.
Sam Larsen at 12:19AM on 02/24/10
Do people think that green is a really appetising colour or something?
I'm starting to see the inevitable green ketchup, green cake, green soup (no, not pea soup - soup with green dye in it), and I'm pretty sure I saw green spaghetti hoops too.
Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
Even worse, it's in Irish supermarkets I'm seeing this.
WHY?!
cellery at 4:39AM on 02/24/10
I remember moving down here to FL back in the late 90s and it took a few years to finally see the Shamrock Shake down here. I have had a few this season and it is still the great concoction it always was. No whipped cream or cherry. To add to the comment about proper mixing, I have found to avoid one or two locations around me because they are constant bad mixers.
beyondthepalace at 7:21AM on 02/24/10
Those things make me want to vomit.
You should smell the raw syrup. Oh man. Disgusting.
joeqboo at 9:13AM on 02/24/10
I can't stand McD's ice cream. Its taste is so much NOT like ice cream that it makes me sick! What is in there?
Butterfly6272 at 9:28AM on 02/24/10
picked up one for my husband yesterday. came in a regular soda 'paper' cup. he gets them every year and according to him it was minty enough. we are in the ohio valley but if we went into pittsburg maybe we would encounter a more frou-frou drink.
Kaysa at 10:34AM on 02/24/10
no blarney. these are a half horrific half addicting, so why on earth aren't food purveyors picking up on this ongoing trend, and making their own better version? Clearly the people can't get enough.
Cantaloupe Alone at 10:56AM on 02/24/10
I got mine from Randolph VT & it tasted just like it always has.
kdroste at 12:30PM on 02/24/10
@Cantaloupe--I totally agree! Nothing like a big ol' cup of unidentifiable ingredients... :)
The kids and I got one today "just to test them out"...haha. No whipped cream or cherries in sight. I did have to stir mine up a bit to mix it, but it tasted just like always to me. Now if I can just keep myself from getting another one tomorrow...
dana828 at 9:02PM on 02/24/10
Blech! I went for my annual Shake only to find that it tasted more like... lime!? than mint. What? Total barfsticks.
ninsf at 6:50AM on 02/25/10
I got my Shamrock Shake yesterday -- paper cup, mixed well, super thick, but no whipped cream or cherry. I have cherry envy (!). Wish I got a cherry with mine.
My beef w/ it is that it isn't brain and mouth freezing minty like it used to be. :(
I should probably just get some peppermint syrup and green food coloring, and make my own. I have a few leftover candy canes stowed away that I can crush and add.
Cassaendra at 10:40AM on 02/28/10
If you are lucky enough to be a near a Chick-fil-A, grab a Mint Cookies and Cream Milkshake for real minty goodness.
zaphire at 10:42AM on 02/28/10
Found the shake close by in River Edge, NJ! Regular paper cup, no whipped cream or cherry, but definitely needed a good stir to mix it up. It was our first Shamrock Shake experience though so we can't comment on how minty it was compared to previous years, but we thought the mint flavor was very subtle.
TwoFatBellies at 3:32AM on 03/01/10
@shoneyjoe: Exactly! You should have seen the manager's face when I recently ordered a Shamrock Shake and told the server "no whip, no fruit, and room for 'grownup' extras." She loved it!
skyeyes at 10:07AM on 03/01/10
I must say that I have always loved their Shamrock shakes, even though the rest of the menu is an absolute non interest for me. After trying one this year, I can put them on the side of I am no longer interested. Why? Because it tasted way more lemony then minty. My four year old noticed it first, then I tried a sip and I definitely agreed. What the heck did they do?
LoriA at 11:07AM on 03/01/10
My McDonalds in Winston-Salem, NC had never heard of it. Girl looked at me like I was crazy.
dirtygreek at 1:33PM on 03/18/10