Can you guess what makes this St. Patrick’s Day cocktail green?

The Spicy Leprechaun cocktail is a green beer alternative this St. Patrick's Day.Photo byDeviation Distilling

By Brittany Anas / NewsBreak Denver

(Denver, Colo) Move over Guinness and Coors Light with green food dye. This St. Patrick’s Day, you can make an emerald cocktail that gets its green color from the produce section.

Denver-based Deviation Distilling shared their recipe for the Spicy Leprechaun, a gin cocktail muddled with arugula, mint and jalapeño. Interestingly, arugula is a spicy little leaf that lends interesting peppery notes to the cocktail.

The recipe calls for Deviation Distilling’s Mountain Herb Gin, which is distilled with juniper, rosemary, mountain sage, spruce tips, coriander and lemon. It’s a smooth and savory sip on its own.

Tip: One of the cocktail’s ingredients is a simple syrup, which is super easy to make at home. Traditional simple syrup is a 1:1 ratio of water and sugar. Heat your water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until hot, but don’t let it boil, and then stir in your sugar. Cool and store it in your fridge; sealed simple sugar can last for a few weeks and is great for at-home bartenders to have on hand.

Here’s how to make the cocktail:

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Deviation Distilling Mountain Herb Gin (or your favorite gin)
• 1 cup arugula
• 10 mint leaves
• 3 slices jalapeños
• 0.5 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 oz simple syrup
• Top with soda water
• Navel orange
• Garnish: navel orange slice and mint leaves

Instructions:

1. In a shaker, muddle the mint, jalapeños and arugula with the fresh lemon juice.
2. Add gin and simple syrup
3. Add ice and shake vigorously for 30 seconds
4. Pour into a rocks glass with ice
5. Cut a navel orange in half and squeeze one half over the cocktail.
6. Top with soda water and garnish with a navel orange slice and mint leaves