Does anyone have tips on making a good Mint Julep? I’m curious about a couple things: 1) The best Kentucky bourbon to use (possibly a Great Debate, in and of itself); 2) Whether or not to “muddle” granulated sugar and mint leaves, or use a sugar syrup and crushed mint leaves; and 3) Is shaved ice better than crushed ice?
There are lots of variables going on in this drink, so experimenting to get it just right is going to be fun…
You must muddle. The sugar crystals rip open the mint leaves, releasing all their minty goodness. Crushed ice lasts longed than shaved.
As for the bourbon…Wild Turkey makes a superior drink. YMMV, of course. But I am right.
Muddling is an essential skill. Not only can you make juleps, but you can also make Mojitos!
Use a wooden dowel, superfine sugar (if you’ve got it. otherwise regular sugar is fine. Or put regular sugar in your blender) and twist away.
Shaved ice is for slushies.
I get a bunch of ice cubes and a hammer. I guess that qualifies as crushed. And definitely the Wild Turkey. Maker’s Mark works too, but I learned how to make 'em in Louisville, and my friend assured me that Maker’s is for drinking straight.
The Texas Mint Julep
Mom told me about this. Apparently, my folks ran with a wild crowd back in the day. You start with a restaurant size pickle jar, empty. Start with a layer of mint leaves and sugar, then a layer of ice cubes. Repeat until you reach the top of the jar. Fill up the airspace with Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Everybody sits in a big circle, and the jar is passed around until everyone has had enough. Those who pass out are pulled aside.
At one such gathering, one couple misunderstood the invitation, and they came dressed for a formal event. The tuxedo-clad gent was among the first to pass out. The other revelers carried him to a bedroom, laid him out on the bed with his arms crossed over his chest and a lily on him. Candles were lit on the nightstands, and they turned off the lights and closed the door. After a while, a terrible scream was heard from the bedroom. 
Those were the days.
I’m picky, and this is somewhat non-traditional, but it’s how I like to make it.
Muddle the mint leaves gently into the bottom of a heavy glass. Use a heathly stack, at least 8 or 10. When muddling try not to shred the mint leaves, you want to smash them intact. This is important so that you don’t have mint pulp floating all over the inside of the glass and getting into your mouth when you sip. Then top with several onces of Makers Mark. Finally add simple syrup (sugar simmered with water) to taste.
Tradition dictates using granulated sugar and the mint in the muddle, but I think the shredded mint is annoying to drink and gets caught in your teeth and throat and the sugar doesn’t dissolve totally. Screw tradition.
Moved from IMHO to CS.
Muddle, muddle, toil and trouble.
Must muddle mint. Abso-freakin-lutely.
Crush ice.
Gently bathe ice cubes in generous portion of Wild Turkey.
Skip all that other shit.
I’ve lived in Kentucky for years, and I still think a mint julep is a horrible thing to do to perfectly good bourbon.
Ok, what the heck is muddling?
Smashing the mint (in the case anyways) with a blunt object to release it’s essential oils and juices.
To muddle is to crush with a pestle. The idea is to release all the mint flavor from the leaves.
So’s pouring it over ice! 
Ah, I get it now. I know the concept but didn’t know what it was called. Thanks!
And yes, they do sell pestles specifically for this purpose; surprisingly enough, they’re called “muddlers”. Look in the barware section of your local supply shop.
On another note, don’t feel that you’re required to use bourbon. For example, the early versions of the recipe called for a couple types of brandy. So you might want play around with different types of base spirits; say, by trying it first with bourbon, then rye. The julep is a class of drink, not a specific recipe.
Maker’s Mark. I won’t even bother arguing about it, but Wild Turkey is an inferior bourbon, and the drinkers of Wild Turkey are toothless redneck slobs who ought not to be let near mint and sugar.
For best results, make the drink in layers and serve with a long straw. You can buy metal carafes just for mint juleps but glassware is fine. Presentation is important.
The day that mint juleps MUST be made and enjoyed is the day of the Kentucky Derby.
Nonsequitur.
What no one has mentioned thus far is that they must be served in a sterling silver cup. No glass. OK - I’ll let you slip by with silverplate, but that’s all the rope you’ll get. You can buy them here: http://tinyurl.com/pmg3e
Also - the straws mentioned should be sterling silver, too - and very short. When you serve the drink, you should have a sprig of mint at the straw. When you sip the drink - since the straw is short, you get a lovely snootful of mint essence.
Enjoy.
VCNJ~
This question can generate as much discussion as how to make a martini!
This page has several recipes and a lot of discussion!
Even though I’ve never been to the south, I feel that the perfect mint julep can be made through a simple series of logical deductions without needing to refer to any ancient traditions or voodoo. A great julep can be made through some simple applications of physics and logic.
You want the julep to be cold. Not ice-cold, but colder than ice-cold. Juleps were developed to combat the fierce southern sun and heavy clothing worn, thus, it should be as cold as possible. A solution of alcohol and water can get down to below the freezing point of water alone and this is one of the distinguishing charecteristics of a julep. Also, juleps should be served traditionally in a silver cup. This is in order to create the signature layer of frost on the outside that comes from the liquid water in the air hitting the colder than freezing surface of the glass.
You want the julep to be the right strength. Too dilute and it will taste weak. Too strong and it will taste harsh. In order to have it at the right strength, you need to control the degree of ice melting such that the drink will come into equilibrium at the right level of dilution. If the alcohol is warmer than the ice, then the ice will melt and cool down the drink, leading to a more dilute julep. If the alcohol is colder than the ice, then the ice will barely melt and lead to a stronger drink. Thus, by controlling the ice/alcohol temperature disparity, the perfect concentration can be reached.
You want the julep to be minty. Mint contains several volatile oils which are locked within the cell walls. The key is to release these volatile oils, but not before they have a chance to evaporate. This suggests that juleps must be made a la minute or a method is found to preserve these oils. I’ve never bothered to do anything but a la minute and the classic method is still the best, muddling.
You want the julep to be sweet. Not too sweet of course, but you definately dont want any of the sugar to remain at the bottom of the glass. This means that you want sugar that dissolves fast and the sugar dissolves faster as the surface area increases. Thus, you want to use ultra-fine sugar for this. If you can’t buy it, just make it but blending some normal sugar in a food processor.
So, Cold, Balanced, Minty and Sweet are the 4 charecteristics we are looking for in a julep. How to accomplish this? Well, we know we need alcohol X degrees above the temp of the ice where X is a number derived from personal experience so the coldest julep should come logically from the coldest ice. This also means that you can never get a decent julep from a bar. Bar ice has been sitting out for hours and is almost at 0C/32F. It is completely inadequate for making a julep. Instead, you’ll have to rely on your personal freezer, cranked up to the lowest setting in order to get really cold ice. If you can feel a slight stickiness to your ice, then you know your about cold enough. I’ve found with the ice my freezer produces, a cool room temperature alcohol gets to about the right dilution factor but feel free to play around. Alternatively, you could store both your alcohol and ice in the freezer and then post-dilute with some water to achieve the right strength which would produce a colder julep but is, IMHO, cheating. Next, you need to muddle and with ultra fine sugar, no other method produces the right minty flavour. Finally, you need to serve in a silver goblet, also prechilled so that the classic julep frost forms on the outside.
Issues of which alcohol, how much sugar and how much mint is left as personal choice and subject to many a religious war but, IMHO, the steps outlined above will produce a damn fine mint julep.