St. Patrick's Day sips go beyond green-dyed beer

Are green suds a dud?

Ted Breaux, master distiller for Lucid absinthe, thinks so. And so, it seems, do plenty of other people.

Absinthe is French, of course, but "we get quite a bit of interest around St. Patrick's Day," Breaux says of the green fairy, the nickname given to absinthe for its color and legendary qualities of intoxication.

Lucid absinthe is 124 proof (or 62 percent alcohol by volume) so you drink it with caution. A simple presentation St. Patrick's Day is an absinthe frappe, which is absinthe and a dash of simple syrup, shaken over ice and poured into a glass that has mint in it.

There are other ways to bring in the green.

"I'm thinking some Jameson (Irish whiskey) and some basil, some lemon juice - that sounds like a good little combo right there," said Giovanni Martinez, bartender at Les Deux gastropub in Hollywood. "Do a little sour with that, maybe honey, lime juice, Jameson and basil. Make sure the basil gets in there really great so it's flecked with green."

GREEN FUZZ

Start to finish: 5 minutes

Servings: 1

1 sprig of fresh mint, plus extra to garnish

1⁄2 lime, cut in 4 pieces

2 ounces Midori melon liqueur

1 ounce Tanqueray Rangpur Gin

8 ounces seltzer water or club soda

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the mint and lime for 1 minute. Add the Midori and Rangpur. Cover and shake vigorously. Fill a tall glass with ice. Add the seltzer water and then strain in the alcohol mixture. Garnish with additional mint.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 222 calories; 0 calories from fat (0 percent of total calories); 0 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 22 g carbohydrate; 0 g protein; 0 g fiber; 0 mg sodium.