Jameson Whiskey Offering $10K For Skipping Work On St. Patrick’s Day

Hold on to your liver because St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday (3/17) this year! That's an automatic three-day weekend, right? Well, not really.

While it is a public holiday in Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is not a federal holiday in the U.S., even though it's celebrated by millions of people here whether or not they have any Irish blood. Based on that fact, and the related alcohol consumption, it should be a day off from work. The same goes for the day after the Super Bowl, and that could actually happen in Tennessee. But I digress.

The folks at Jameson Irish Whiskey feel the same way as I do about being at the office on St. Patrick's Day, so they're offering you the chance to win $10,000 if you take it upon yourself to make this March 17th a day off from work. I'm guessing $10-grand would more than cover your missed wages from playing hooky for one day.

Here's how Jameson's St. Patrick’s Day Time Off, or SPTO, contest works:

To help make sure you don’t get busted for ducking out early on St. Patty’s Day, Jameson is even offering a "Desk Decoy." You can buy a special customizable, life-size cutout version of yourself to prop up in your office or cubicle so that your boss is none the wiser. Actually, Jameson doesn't want anyone getting into trouble so they require that your supervisor sign off on all of this. Heck, invite them to join you!

Jameson really has thought of everything. To support the people working in the restaurant and bar industries, who can't take St. Patrick's Day off, all proceeds of the Jameson Desk Decoys will be donated to the Restaurant Workers Community Foundation. That's on top of an additional $25,000 donation from Jameson.

So are you in? Let's do this! CLICK HERE to find everything you need to know about the SPTO contest and Jameson Desk Decoy. But hurry, you only have until March 10th to get your decoy and March 16th to enter the contest. Slainte!

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:

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

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

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

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

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

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