The groundhog might have seen its shadow but there was at least one sure sign of spring on Tuesday: the annual announcement of McDonald’s Shamrock Shake.
The burger chain will bring its mint-flavored rite of spring back to menus on Feb. 15, for a limited time, as always. The company is also bringing back its Oreo Shamrock McFlurry to go along with the shake. McDonald’s said the McFlurry version is back “by popular demand.” The McFlurry was first introduced last year.
The Shamrock Shake has been an annual feature on McDonald’s menu around St. Patrick’s Day for the past 51 years, and like many popular menu items, it was created by a franchisee.
Hal Rosen, a McDonald’s owner-operator in Connecticut, created the Shamrock Shake in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in 1967, and it was adopted in select locations around the country three years later—though it wasn’t a national menu item until 2012. Funds from the sale of Shamrock Shakes helped fund the first Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia in 1974, according to the company.
“For more than 50 years, fans have eagerly awaited the annual return of the Shamrock Shake, counting on the arrival of Shamrock Shake Season to mark the unofficial start to spring,” Chad Schafer, McDonald’s senior director of culinary, said in a statement.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.