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Mint Juleps -- B&B Classic Cocktails

The mint julep is a delicious, refreshing drink commonly associated with the American South, and specifically the Kentucky Derby. As Derby Day is just days away, I thought it'd be appropriate to toss out a special "Classic Cocktails" installment on the mint julep. What follows is my version -- julep recipes are notoriously controversial, particularly on the point of "to muddle or not to muddle". However, in general, the julep consists of four ingredients: Kentucky bourbon, sugar, mint, and water. The "official" Kentucky Derby version is made with Early Times Bourbon, but the top-shelf variety offered at Churchill Downs over the past few years has consisted of Woodford Reserve Bourbon (served in an elaborate gold and silver cup). This is what I'll be using tonight.

The traditional Julep cup is either silver or pewter -- the idea that the metal cup keeps the drink cold and minimizes heat transfer to the drink when held only by the top and bottom rims. Today, they're often served in more standard bar glassware, but I happen to have a julep glass I like very much, and so although I'm a Hoosier and don't own a seersucker suit, I can assume the role of a proper Kentucky gentleman for a brief moment as I sip my julep. :redface:

So, without any further adieu, let's gather some ingredients:

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We have fresh mint, bourbon, mint syrup (more on this in a moment), ice, and the aforementioned cup.

The way I like to make my juleps does not involve muddling. Some recipes call for lightly brusing the mint in the bottom of the glass, however I prefer a different approach: make up a batch of simple syrup and infuse your mint into it. I get best results by letting this sit overnight (which is why I don't have detailed pictures for this part of the process, but in a nutshell)

  • Boil 8oz (1 cup) of purified H2O
  • Stir in 1 dry cup of granulated sugar until dissolved. Use only the 1:1 ratio for a julep... it's really easy to over-sweeten this drink.
  • Decant into a bottle
  • Drop in 4-6 sprigs of mint, and place in the refrigerator overnight, agitating lightly whenever you open the fridge for something else :tongue:
And now you have mint syrup. It'll look a little somthin' like this:

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You don't have to strain out the mint if you're going to use the syrup within a week or so.

Now, to crush some ice. I like using bagged ice, especially for juleps. The water quality is usually better than what I get at home, and as my landlord has yet to install the fridges with the built-in ice-crushers that I keep requesting :wink: I have to improvise, and cubed ice really doesn't work as well as bagged when "manually" crushing. I put about a cup of ice into a ziploc bag, seal it up, and smash it repeatedly with a hammer.

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I'm sure they have a better way of going about this at Churchill Downs. :blushing:

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Now dump your crushed ice into your julep glass, all the way to the top:

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See the frost already beginning to form on the outside?

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Now -- slowly pour only 1 tbsp (about .5oz) of mint syrup directly over the middle of the ice pile. Remember: it's really easy to over-sweeten this drink. Don't overdo it on the syrup.

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Now quickly, pour 2oz of bourbon over the middle of the ice. Woodford Reserve makes a special bottle art for each years' Kentucky Derby. Very fetching, but not so much as to not want to empty it. :cool:

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Pop in a straw and give it a quick stir.

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And garnish with a mint sprig. What you'll have should look a lil' somethin' like this:

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:blush:

This is a truly satisfying drink, and remarkably easy to make. There's definitely some nuance -- some julep devotees insist on no mint added to the drink, and to only take in the mint through the nose as you sip around the garnish. Others prefer lightly muddling some mint with syrup. You could spend a lifetime trying all the "secret family recipes" out there. But this is what works for me, and it's what I'll be drinking on Saturday. :biggrin:
 
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I prefer the mint muddled & layered with the ice.

Mint juleps are surprisingly refreshing in the heat. But yikes, be careful! :biggrin:
 
No offense to Pat, 'cause he does great cocktail write-ups, but he can't really compete with this:[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJV-O1e10z8[/YOUTUBE]
THE MINT JULEP
But in the Blue Grass land there is a softer sentiment---a gentler soul. There is where the wind makes waves of the wheat and scents itself with the aroma of new-mown hay, there is no contest with the world outside. On summer days when, from his throne, the great sun dictates his commands, one may look forth across broad acres where the long grass falls and rises as the winds may blow it. He can see the billowy slopes far off, each heaving as the zephyrs touch it with a caressing hand. Sigh of the earth with never a sob, the wind comes to the Blue Grass. A sweet sigh, a loving one; a tender sigh, a lover’s touch, she gives the favored land. And the moon smiles at her caressing and the sun gives benediction to the lovers. Nature and earth are one---married by the wind and sun whispering leaflets on the happy tree.

Then comes the zenith of man’s pleasure. Then comes the julep---the mint julep. Who has not tasted one has lived in vain. The honey of Hymettus brought no such solace to the soul; the nectar of the Gods is tame beside it. It is the very dream of drinks, the vision of sweet quaffings. The Bourbon and the mint are lovers. In the same land they live, on the same food they are fostered. The mint dips its infant leaf into the same stream that makes the bourbon what it is. The corn grows in the level lands through which small streams meander. By the brook-side the mint grows. As the little wavelets pass, they glide up to kiss the feet of the growing mint, the mint bends to salute them. Gracious and kind it is, living only for the sake of others. The crushing of it only makes its sweetness more apparent. Like a woman’s heart, it gives its sweetest aroma when bruised. Among the first to greet the spring, it comes. Beside the gurgling brooks that make music in the pastures it lives and thrives.

When the Blue Grass begins to shoot its gentle sprays toward the sun, mint comes, and its sweetest soul drinks at the crystal brook. It is virgin then. But soon it must be married to Old Bourbon. His great heart, his warmth of temperament, and that affinity which no one understands, demand the wedding. How shall it be? Take from the cold spring some water, pure as angels are; mix it with sugar until it seems like oil. Then take a glass and crush you mint within it with a spoon---crush it around the borders of the glass and leave no place untouched. Then throw the mint away---it is a sacrifice.

Fill with cracked ice the glass; pour in the quantity of Bourbon which you want. It trickles slowly through the ice. Let it have time to col, then pour your sugared water over it. No spoon is needed, no stirring is allowed---just let it stand a moment. Then around the brim place sprigs of mint, so that the one who drinks may find a taste and odor at one draught.
When it is made, sip it slowly. August suns are shining, the breath of the south wind is upon you. It is fragrant, cold and sweet---it is seductive. No maiden’s touch could be more passionate. Sip it and dream, it is a dream itself. No other land can give so sweet a solace for your cares; no other liquor soothes you so in melancholy days. Sip it and say there is no solace for the soul, no tonic for the body like Old Bourbon whiskey.

--Joshua Soule Smith, c.1890s
 
Pat, your provisional application for Kentucky citizenship is one giant step closer to approval (we just have to find a way to get around that whole Indiana problem...:wink:).

I'll be making dozens of these this weekend during our annual Derby party, using very much the steps you've explained above, including the mint simple syrup (instead of decanting right after the boil, though, I wait until the syrup is back to room temperature, throw the sprigs in, bruise the leaves just a bit with a spoon, and let sit in the pot, covered, overnight). And yeah, water quality matters here (purists insist on branch water but I, um, question the purity of the stream that runs behind my house!), so good call on the bag ice.

Most importantly, the Julep is a slow, sippin' drink, not a gulper. Part of the rationale behind that is drunkenness prevention, I suppose, but more importantly, you want to allow time for some of the ice in the glass to melt, mixing with the syrup and balancing out the sweetness perfectly. Resist the temptation top "top off" your glass with bourbon or, Colonel forbid, syrup.

Happy Derby weekend!
 
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Not quite hot enough around these parts to bust out the julep yet. I've got to get a better julep cup though, I just use the cup from my juicer...

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Resurrecting this thread for the 137th! :thumbup1: I'm planning to make Mint Juleps tomorrow. My daughter has just started riding this year so we're a bit more into anything horse-related than in the past. :biggrin1:

Who has the best Mint Julep recipe? This one, with the mint-infused syrup, looks very promising so I think that's what I'll go with unless one of you has another twist on it.
 
Who has the best Mint Julep recipe? This one, with the mint-infused syrup, looks very promising so I think that's what I'll go with unless one of you has another twist on it.

This is what we do every year. Once you have the syrup and ice prepared from the first round, it makes very efficient refills for the rest of the day :thumbup:
 
I'm having a julep almost exactly the way the OP makes them right now watching Derby coverage. One of my fave days of the year!

I DO own a seersucker, but not wearing it today since I've had the kids mia sola all day up til a few minutes ago.

CHEERS!
 
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