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South Carolina City Ranks As One Of The Best Places To Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day In 2024

Author Phil Harris
It's not hard to get into the spirit on St. Patrick's Day. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

One of the biggest party holidays of the year is fast approaching. March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day and you don’t have to be Irish to get in on the fun. Although, wearing something green certainly helps. So does being in the right place. If you can’t get yourself to Dublin, there are plenty of cities here in the U.S. who go all out with their own traditions. One of them is in South Carolina.

The folks at WalletHub have just come out with their annual list of the Best U.S. Cities for St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations. The personal finance site rated 200 of the biggest cities in the nation on 15 key metrics pertaining to traditions, cost, safety & accessibility, and weather. The specific metrics include the number of Irish pubs and restaurants per capita, weather forecasts for March 17th, parades and parties, and the average price of a beer.

It’s no surprise that the very Irish-American city of Boston ranks as the best place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. However, while it comes in first for traditions, Boston is number 131 for weather and 132 for cost. More about weather in a bit. The best city in terms of cost is Madison, Wisconsin, and 20th overall.

Chicago, famous for dyeing its river green for the holiday, is second overall. The nearby city of Naperville, Illinois, has the highest percentage of Irish population in the United States, while Hialeah, Florida, has the lowest. New York, Chicago, Seattle, and Tampa have the most Irish pubs and restaurants per capita, while El Paso, Texas, has the fewest.

If you like sunshine and mild temperatures for your St. Patrick’s Day, you don’t have to look far. Columbia, South Carolina is number 14 overall but number one for weather on March 17th. Hey, nobody wants rain in their Guinness. The Palmetto State’s capital city is just 90 minutes south of Charlotte (which is only 75th on the list) so maybe it’s worth checking out. But remember to wear your green!

Top 25 U.S. Cities for St. Patrick’s Day (WalletHub)

  1. Boston, Massachusetts (#1 Traditions)
  2. Chicago, Illinois
  3. Savannah, Georgia
  4. Reno, Nevada
  5. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  6. New York, New York
  7. Worcester, Massachusetts
  8. Buffalo, New York
  9. Tampa, Florida
  10. Santa Rosa, California
  11. Naperville, Illinois
  12. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  13. Knoxville, Tennessee
  14. Columbia, South Carolina (#1 Weather)
  15. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  16. Henderson, Nevada
  17. Syracuse, New York
  18. Las Vegas, Nevada
  19. New Orleans, Louisiana
  20. Madison, Wisconsin (#1 Cost)
  21. Dayton, Ohio
  22. St. Paul, Minnesota
  23. Boise, Idaho (#1 Safety & Accessibility)
  24. Cleveland, Ohio
  25. Fort Wayne, Indiana

Phil Harris is 50% of "Phil & Mel in the Afternoon" on K104.7. He has been with the station since 2013 and on the air in Charlotte since 2000. Before coming to the Queen City, Phil worked for radio stations in Pittsburgh, Austin, and Seattle. In addition to the weekly "Throwback Threesome" music video feature, Phil writes about things that matter to Charlotte sports fans and pet owners. He happens to be both.

6 Guinness Cocktails You Can Make For St. Patrick’s Day

St Patrick’s Day honors the death of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The annual day of celebration originally marked the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and was made an official religious holiday by the Catholic Church in the early 17th century.

While traditional festivities saw communities gather at church services and family feasts, it has since become a notoriously boozy holiday celebrated here in the U.S. Many celebrate March 17 by sipping on one of the country’s most iconic exports – Guinness.

A stout beer known for its dark color, creamy head and characteristic caramel flavor is made from roasted barley, hops, yeast and water. If you’re looking to switch things up this year, check out these 6 Guinness cocktail recipes below:

  • Wilde Oscar

    A simple cocktail that takes just five minutes to make, the Wilde Oscar is a modern take on the Old Fashioned. A traditionally saccharine drink, the addition of bitter stout beer helps to offset some of the sweetness as does using a bourbon with lots of spicy character.
    Ingredients: (one serving)
    1.5oz bourbon

    1oz Guinness Extra Stout

    0.5oz rich simple syrup

    Dash of botanical bitters

  • Bloody Mary

    A take on the traditional Bloody Mary, this recipe uses seafood seasoning, black pepper, celery salt hot sauce and Worcester sauce combined with tomato juice and stout beer to give it a malty flavor.
    Ingredients: (one serving)

    1.5oz vodka

    3oz tomato juice

    2 pinches celery salt

    2 pinches pepper

    Seafood seasoning

    2 dashes hot sauce

    2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

    1 squeeze lemon

    2oz Guinness Draught

  • Parts Unknown

    This drink is a combination of a traditional Guinness cocktail and a more tropical Tiki-style cocktail that combines stout beer with blackcurrant liquor to balance the bitterness and compliment its natural dark fruit flavors.
    Ingredients: (one serving)

    1.5oz rum

    0.5oz lemon

    0.75oz Crème de Cassis

    0.25oz Orgeat

    Guinness Draught

  • St. James’s Flip

    https://youtu.be/Gmxph_qIm68I

    Named after the St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin, this is a traditional old-style cocktail that’s made using a whole egg. For best results, use the freshest eggs you can get your hands on and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
    Ingredients: (one serving)

    1oz rum

    0.5oz sweetened condensed milk

    1/2 of a fresh egg

    1.5oz Guinness Foreign Extra Stout or Guinness Draught

    Grated nutmeg

  • Newly Minted

    A combination of stout beer and white crème de menthe, the two ingredients pair really well together to create a warm chocolatey character. The trick here is to use lots of ice and serve with a sprig of mint.
    Ingredients: (one serving)

    1 fluid oz White Crème De Menthe

    Guinness Extra Stout or Guinness Draught

  • Black and Blonde

    The drink combines Guinness blond American lager and, of course, the classic Irish stout. While it seems like a pretty basic cocktail, there is a technique to it, which if you get it wrong can end up making a bit of a mess. To start with you have to pour in half a pint of American lager. You then top it up with Irish stout by using a pouring spoon or inverted teaspoon, letting the stout float on top of the lager. The result is certainly an interesting-looking beer.
    Ingredients: (one serving)
    10 oz. Guinness Blonde

    10 oz. Guinness Draught

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