Many Memphians spending $1,000 on St. Patrick’s Day drinking | News

Many local bars prepare their menus and drink specials for another St. Patrick’s Day - a holiday mostly associated with beer and alcohol consumption regardless of its true intent.

But have Memphians prepared their wallets?

A popular money managing application - Mint.com - dug into its data to find out how much cities are spending on alcohol in the two weeks surrounding the holiday.

According to thier infographic, in 2010 Memphis Mint.com users spent $1,034 on alcohol.

Memphis was among some of the lower spending cities on the list - the highest was Littleton, CO where roughly $92 was spent per transaction for the 14 days around St. Patrick’s Day

Former bartender at the local Dan Mcguinness, Kate Mauldin, has worked two of the holidays. She said from trends she has seen alcohol consumption around St. Patrick’s Day is borderline competitive.

“We live in a binge drinking culture and consume a lot. It’s almost a competition - and the trend of pub crawls make it more competitive, like you have to drink as much as humanely possible,” she said.

At Dan Mcguinness she said their top selling items were Bailey’s Irish Cream, Jamison Whiskey, and Car Bombs. As green beer was popular it was usually only picked because it was cheap - many people tended to stray away because of the food coloring in it.

Jessica Harvey worked on Beale at Silky O’ Sullivans on St. Patrick’s Day a few years ago. She said, from her observations, it gives Americans a reason to splurge - just like any other holiday such as Christmas or Valentine’s Day.

“It’s easy to forget financial responsibilities when everyone around you is celebrating a ‘holiday’ - that is traditionally known for being about binge drinking,” she said.

In addition, Mauldin said people that are in a financial bind may still spend more than they should during this time period. Some people tend to mix routine money with food and entertainment money - and over this holiday it can get out of hand.

“From what I have noticed from that night is many people buying rounds of shooters for friends - or buying pitchers for the entire table on their card that is already at the bar, because it’s easier for everyone,” she said.

After bartending for seven St. Patrick’s Days - Mike Grabman, who served at The Cove in Memphis - said there are many contributing aspects to take into consideration.

“I'd be tempted to say that it would be younger people with more disposable income (who are Mint users in the graph) ant that it’s a combination of factors. NCAA basketball games, St. Patrick day deals or promotions, Spring Break for college kids and families on vacation, and finally because the weather has turned people are looking to meet that special someone.”

You can see a larger version of the infographic here.