While you’re enjoying your spring break, remember that there is a high holiday for those who love to drink. St. Patrick’s Day seems to always be over this break, so here’s the top Irish cocktails and drinks to enjoy during this very special day.

It is also very important to note that some of these drinks have very bad connotations outside of the United States, and bring up some very deadly parts of Ireland’s history. If you want to bring up your Irish ancestry, do your ancestors a service and learn about the countries history before you get blasted.

Black and Tan (in Ireland its called a half and half)

Fill a beer glass halfway with a pale ale, then add a stout — GUINNESS — to the glass

This is an easy St. Paddy’s Day themed drink, because most folks can grab a sixer of a pale ale and then add Guinness. However if you do ever find yourself in the land of Eire, DO NOT ORDER IT AS A BLACK AND TAN. This was the nickname of the Royal Irish Constabulary Reserve Force, who were sent to Ireland in the 1920s to help suppress Irish nationalists. People from the United States had made this mistake before, so don’t repeat it.

Irish Car Bomb

Fill a beer glass halfway (see a theme here?) with Guinness. Pour three quarters of an ounce of whiskey (Tullamore Dew or Jameson) into a shot glass, top with an Irish cream (Baileys or Carolans, accept no substitutes).

Now this is another cocktail with some unfortunate connotations. During The Troubles, car bombs were used by Irish nationalists in Northern Ireland to retaliate against the British. However this is a fun drink to have, the only key is you need to chug it. At first you get the harsh tastes of the stout but at the end the lovely flavors of the Irish cream make you want more afterwards. Please be careful when drinking these, they do pack a punch.

Hot Toddy

Hot water, simple syrup and whiskey (Jameson caskmates for this one).

If you’re gonna be in a cold climate, this will warm you up. Since you’re not mixing much, try to experiment with different bottles of whiskey to see what your palette likes the most. I prefered the IPA edition caskmates for this one.

Irish Coffee

Another simple recipe, pour a cup of coffee and then add in whiskey. You can add Irish cream to the drink if you want to.

This ingenious recipe is the original Four Loko, but much better. Also, this is a great drink for a St. Patrick’s day brunch if you want to start the party early. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and I wouldn’t try to add anything more to this cocktail.

Just whiskey or a pint you godless heathen

Look, drinking straight booze is hard for some people but if you want to try some Irish drinks here are a few that would be a good place to start: Jameson, Bushmills, Tullamore Dew and Green Spot. If you don’t like the taste of any of these, mixing in a little 7-Up or Coke would be fine, if you want to bring shame to any Irish relative you have.

If beers are more your thing, guess what, the Irish really love their stouts. I’d recommend Murphy’s, Guinness (I have to put this one down), Harp Lager and Kilkenny Cream Ale. Enjoy these drinks either out of the can or out of the glass, but glass is the proper way to go.