McDonald’s Shamrock Shake is one of the most anticipated seasonal releases in all of fast food, and that popularity is pretty amazing given a lot of people don’t even know what flavor it is. Maybe it just tastes that good, or maybe it’s that the holiday doesn’t get many other special treats. But at this point, the Shamrock Shake is as much a part of St. Patrick’s Day in the U.S. as parades, green clothes, and the plethora of green food and drink recipes.
The popular shake actually managed to celebrate its 55th anniversary this year, being first released back in 1970. Fans even got treated to something special for McDonald’s 2025 Shamrock Shake release, with the company bringing back Grimace’s long-retired Irish relative, Uncle O’Grimacey. But given that notoriety, the name doesn’t actually describe the flavor at all — and if you order a Shamrock Shake for the first time, you might be surprised to find that it tastes like mint.
Mint isn’t exactly a famous Irish flavor, and there are plenty of green sweet flavors like Key Lime and pistachio. But apparently, the popularity of mint ice cream also makes a kind of sense. Or maybe Hal Rosen, the McDonald’s owner in Connecticut who first created the shake in 1967, just liked mint. The flavor itself is more of a mint-vanilla, as the shake is made by blending McDonald’s proprietary Shamrock Shake Syrup with its existing reduced fat vanilla ice cream. So, even if you are skeptical about a mint shake, the flavor is not overpowering.
McDonald’s Shamrock Shake ended up mint flavored after several early changes
The Shamrock Shake has been mint flavored for a while, but McDonald’s clearly had its own initial doubts about combining mint and St. Patrick’s Day. When the shake was first invented by Hal Rosen in 1967, it was mint. But when it debuted on a larger scale at McDonald’s, it was actually lemon-lime flavored. That citrus and cream flavor didn’t go over too well, and by 1973, the chain had switched the flavor again. This time, McDonald’s decided to keep it simple and just dye its vanilla shakes green.
It lasted that way for 10 years, until the current McDonald’s Shamrock Shake we all love debuted in all its minty glory in 1983. Believe it or not, the Shamrock Shake only went fully nationwide in 2012, although many parts of the country have been lucky enough to enjoy it since the ’70s. Over that time, there have been a few flavor variations on it as well. There was an Oreo Shamrock McFlurry for the 50th anniversary in 2020, and a chocolate mint version of the shake in 2017. There was even a Shamrock Sundae in 1980.
While today’s Shamrock Shake is mint flavored, don’t expect any bits of real mint leaves mixed in there. The ingredients list the expected sweeteners and stabilizers (high fructose corn syrup, xanthan gum, etc.), and just 2% or less of natural flavor, while the syrup itself is just artificial mint flavor. But nobody was expecting anything less from the creators of the McRib.
