A Polar Bear, After Eight or Peppermint Paddy (a play on Peppermint Pattie) is a mint chocolate

Mint chocolate

Mint chocolate, also known as chocolate mint, is a popular variety of flavored chocolate. It is created when mint flavoring, such as peppermint, spearmint, or crème de menthe, is added to plain chocolate. Chocolate mint also refers to an herb, specifically a hybrid mint plant, that tastes and...

 cocktail

Cocktail

A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...

 that tastes like a York Peppermint Pattie

York Peppermint Pattie

York Peppermint Pattie is a dark chocolate enrobed peppermint confection produced by The Hershey Company, under license from Cadbury plc ....

 or an After Eight

After Eight

After Eight Thin Mints are a confectionery product described as "mint enrobed in dark chocolate" and are intended, as the name suggests, to be used as after-dinner mints. They were created in 1962 by Rowntree & Company Limited...

 wafer. It is usually made from crème de cacao and peppermint

Peppermint

Peppermint is a hybrid mint, a cross between the watermint and spearmint . The plant, indigenous to Europe, is now widespread in cultivation throughout all regions of the world...

 schnapps

Schnapps

Schnapps is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage. The English word schnapps is derived from the German Schnaps , which can refer to any strong alcoholic drink but particularly those containing at least 32% ABV...

, although crème de menthe

Crème de menthe

Crème de menthe is a sweet, mint-flavored alcoholic beverage. Its flavor is primarily derived from Corsican mint. It is available commercially in a colorless and a green version...

 is a popular substitute.

Preparation

Polar Bear is usually served cold in a shot glass

Shot glass

A shot glass is a small glass designed to hold or measure spirits or liquor, which is either drunk straight from the glass or poured into a mixed drink....

. The typical ingredients are:

• 1 oz. creme de cacao liqueur
• 1 oz. peppermint schnapps
  Schnapps
  Schnapps is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage. The English word schnapps is derived from the German Schnaps , which can refer to any strong alcoholic drink but particularly those containing at least 32% ABV...
  
   liqueur

One popular recipe involves shaking

Cocktail shaker

A cocktail shaker is a device used to mix beverages by shaking. When ice is put in the shaker this allows for a quicker cooling of the drink before serving....

 all ingredients with crushed ice and serving in a shot glass

Shot glass

A shot glass is a small glass designed to hold or measure spirits or liquor, which is either drunk straight from the glass or poured into a mixed drink....

 with a mint leaf as garnish

Garnish

A garnish is an item or substance used as a decoration or embellishment and often a flavor component on a prepared food dish or drink. In many cases, it may give added or contrasting flavor, some garnishes are selected first to augment the visual impact of the plate, while others are selected...

. The drink can also be served in a shot glass without ice, or "on the rocks

Ice cube

Ice cubes are small, roughly cube-shaped pieces of ice, conventionally used to cool beverages. Ice cubes are often preferred over crushed ice because they melt more slowly; they are standard in mixed drinks that call for ice, in which case the drink is said to be "on the rocks."Ice cubes are...

" in a rocks glass.

Variations

• Polar Bear #2, made with 3 oz Vodka
  Vodka
  Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
  
  , 1 oz Blue Curacao and 7-up soda.
• Polar Bear #3, an alternate version made with 3 oz Vodka
  Vodka
  Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
  
  , 1 oz lime juice and 7-up
• Polar Bear #4, Polar Bear using creme de cacao and creme de menthe
  Crème de menthe
  Crème de menthe is a sweet, mint-flavored alcoholic beverage. Its flavor is primarily derived from Corsican mint. It is available commercially in a colorless and a green version...
  
  . This can either be layered or made in a cocktail shaker
• Polar Bear Cooler, using 2 oz Dark rum, 1 oz red vermouth
  Vermouth
  Vermouth is a fortified wine flavored with various dry ingredients. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced around the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Italy and France...
  
  , 1 oz lime juice, 1/2 orange juice
  Orange juice
  Orange juice is a popular beverage made from oranges. It is made by extraction from the fresh fruit, by desiccation and subsequent reconstitution of dried juice, or by concentration of the juice and the subsequent addition of water to the concentrate...
  
  , and 3 1/2 oz 7-up. Pour into a collins glass filled with broken ice and add a spiral of lemon. Garnish with an orange wedge and cherry. Serve with straws.
• Polar Bear in a Blizzard, made with 1 oz. white chocolate cream liqueur, 1 oz. peppermint schnapps liqueur, and 1 oz. vodka
• Polar Bear Drink, made with 1 shot Vodka
  Vodka
  Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
  
  , 1 shot Blue Curacao and Sprite
  Sprite (soft drink)
  Sprite is a transparent, lemon-lime flavored , caffeine free soft drink, produced by the Coca-Cola Company. It was introduced in the United States in 1961. This was Coke's response to the popularity of 7 Up, which had begun as "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda" in 1929...
  
  to fill.