My Idea for a Mint Julep.

Cafe Society
1

First off, according to my bar manual, a Mint Julep is a couple of teaspoons of water and powdered sugar and mint. You muddle this well in a mint julep cup, and then add shaved ice (my manual says). Then you top it off with a lot of good Kentucky Bourbon. Up to 3 fluid ounces, believe it or not.

If you want to make a true Southern Mint Julep, it says, don’t muddle the mint in the cup. Simply garnish well with mint leaves, and serve with short straws so the drinker will have to bury his nose in the mint to drink. It says, the mint is intended to scent, rather than flavor. (I am not making this up.) I haven’t read the book for quite some time. But I remember well that is what it says.

Anyways, I bought a bottle of Mint Julep some time back. So I am usually all set when it comes to Kentucky Derby day. But one time, I didn’t have fresh mint. So I tried using what I already had in the house.

I took a teaspoon of Peppermint Schnapps and a teaspoon of dried mint (again, this is all I had). I muddled that well, and finished off with the ice and bourbon as above. It is kind of ironic, because I shared the recipe on a British website. And still to this day, I have to wonder if that thought that is how you make a true Mint Julep.

And for you purists out there, I will offer this. You know, to make a true Margarita, some would argue, you have to make sure you use Tequila. You can skimp and substitute with the other stuff. But the Tequila is a must. So when you buy it in a store, as I have. And they use citric acid, or even artificial lime flavor, it is no matter as long as it has Tequila.

So for the Mint Julep, I would argue, as long as it has the Bourbon and the true mint (dried, as it may have been), that’s all you need. Am I wrong?

:):):slight_smile:

2

Just like a martini is essentially gin with flavorings, a julep is basically bourbon with flavorings. Neither is a mixed drink in the sense of containing meaningful amounts of anything other than the base spirit.

We do the muddling thing, with confectioner’s sugar and fresh mint leaves; we put that pulped mixture in a highball glass and ice it up and fill it with bourbon. We did a taste test with Jack Daniels, a local Long Island whiskey called Pine Barrens, and Wild Turkey 101. The Turkey was our favorite for this drink. I dont remember much else about that afternoon, but do remember that we did not need to refill our glasses.

3

Default mint is spearmint. I can’t imagine peppermint schnapps is anything but disgusting, though I’m willing to be surprised. I think I have some, somewhere, maybe I’ll try, though I have no good way to crush ice.

Or according to some, a martini is gin with an unopened vermouth bottle somewhere in the vicinity.

4

Yeah, at least we julep drinkers don’t go around saying “Just wave that sprig of mint leaves in the air and pretend you’re adding them to the glass”. It may still be 99.3% Wild Turkey bourbon we’re drinking but it has mint essence in it, by God!

5

My grandfather was a bartender (more than half a century ago) and he taught me to make crushed ice by holding a regular ice cube in the palm of my hand and striking it repeatedly with the back of a spoon (held in the other hand). It works but it makes your hand really cold. You can put a hand towel between your hand and the ice.

6

Totally agree.

Past and opening one this one because the Derby is over, but I always chuckle when I see people taste a mint julep for the first time. They are expecting a fruity rum drink, but the mint julep is a shot of bourbon with a hint of mint, with emphasis on hint.

You can water down and change wine all you want until it doesn’t have a kick, but then it’s called grape juice.

7

I was talking to a 35 year old on Saturday and said “if we had planned ahead, we could have had Derby party with mint juleps.” He said “what’s a mint julep?” And he’s a fellow horse person! These youngsters. I doubt if he even knows what the Derby is.

8

Never had one although very curious to try. I have found that (obviously) proportions are vital for these cocktails. I tried martinis for a while and eventually found the gin itself was all over the map in terms of flavour. Eventually discovered Hendricks was oh so good. The vermouth was a standard Martini and Rosso and that didn’t matter at all. An off-dry ratio of 5/1 was my final verdict.

Same for a Sidecar: this is a sweet/sour drink with Cognac (or Brandy), Cointreau and lemon juice. Some recipes said 1/1/1 which is absurdly unbalanced. My final recipe was 3/1/1 (the 3 being a good Cognac). Very nice cocktail.

I suspect for the Mint Julip a small amount of sugar and mint muddled and then 3 oz. of good bourbon (Woodford’s Reserve) and another mint leaf as garnish.

9

Am I really the only one who just can’t get past the idea of putting a teaspoon of dried mint in a drink?

10

Another classic Sidecar ratio is 3/2/1.

The classic mint julep is really a “sling” in cocktail terms- i.e spirits, water and sugar with some herbs, but it’s called a julep in a sort of nod to some sort of medicinal qualities, since the original juleps were medicinal herb concoctions used as medicine. David Wondrich says “now to call this, mixologically speaking nothing more than a sling, a “julep” is like calling a morning bong-hit “glaucoma medicine”” He goes on to say that the addition of the mint was the figurative fig leaf that let them do this.

Also, for a fun fact, it was originally typically made with peach brandy or cognac, because bourbon was considered too rustic back in the first half of the 19th century when mint juleps were very popular.