You might treat today as a chance to channel your own Dublin drunkard, but mixologist Owen Thomson is on a mission to prove that St. Patrick’s Day is about more than just a keg of green beer.

Ingredients
¾ oz. Powers Irish whiskey
¾ oz. green chartreuse
½ oz. Cointreau
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
2 dashes celery bitters
1 egg white
Basil leaf

1. Shake first six ingredients without ice to aerate.

2. Add ice and shake again.

3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

4. Slap the fresh basil leaf between your hands to release its aromatics, then drop it on top of the cocktail.

5. Pinch yourself.

Drink like the Irish at Bourbon, 2321 18th Street NW, between Kalorama and Belmont Roads (202-332-0800 or bourbondc.com).