This odd drink was first mixed by Paul Child, husband of the indefatigable Julia Child. According to her, it was christened after a ballad by J. Milton Hayes, The Green Eye of the Yellow God, which recounts the tale of a dashing young officer in colonial India who undertook to steal a jewel from a statue. This mixture of lime and mint is sweet and sour, and quite potent.

Pour ingredients over cube ice and stir.1 Strain into a cocktail glass.2

Julia Child recommends this drink as a cocktail prior to a dinner of roast lamb. The taste of mint would prepare the palate for the earthy notes of that meat. I have occasionally mixed this strange drink for people who like the grasshopper and the amaretto sour but not bitters and it was well received.

1. Most drinks should be mixed over crushed ice, in order to properly chill the liquor. This one needs to be just a little warmer so that the disparate flavors come together properly.

2. This gorgeous emerald drink needs no garnish, but if you must be flamboyant, wrap a thin sprig of mint around the stem and hang an oreo cookie on the edge of the glass (you may have to carefully chisel out a slot in the cookie).

From Julia Child & Company, published in 1978, the cookbook to accompany the television series of the same title, broadcast on WBGH.