Theme Recipe: Mint Julep

Given my penchant for cocktail recipes, and the affiliation of this famous Bourbon drink with the Derby...well with today's theme focused on mysteries and frights that contain horse racing and Derby moment, the theme recipe HAD to be a mint julep.  There's only one little problem, for a cocktail that basically contains sugar, water, mint and bourbon, there are a lot of variations on this one.  That just strikes me as weird.  As a southerner, I grew up with bourbon and juleps--there wasn't a great deal that was mysterious about this concoction.  Yeah, I did notice on Derby Day there were some dudes in top hates sipping these from metallic...maybe even silver cups, I thought that was just rich southern snobbery not meant for the likes of my rather humble family--so I just imagined that the drink was just the same one I knew, just in a fancy, expensive cup.  Well...turns out, yes and no.  I found an original recipe for the julep a couple of years back and was rather astonished to learn that the drink not only went back to the original Derby, but that it, if properly made, would take DAYS to make!

Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark, grandson William Clark of the Lewis & Clark expedition, founded the organization that would eventually run the first Derby, had a thing about horses and cocktails (Churchill Downs was named for some of his relatives that gave up the land for the track to be built).  It turns out that he served the original julep at the inaugural Derby in 1875, and they are still served today.  A lot of early traditions of annual events do not survive more than ten or 15 years....I was surprised that this tradition was quite stubbornly intact, despite the prohibition years.  Suffice, though, that the original drink was as much about ice as it was the fine bourbon.  Ice, at the time, was still a sign of serious prestige in warm months.  To make these today, shave ice needs to be frozen a couple of times, with a straw spout to be close to the original.  Even today, most juleps at the Derby look like drink at the top, above.  So that's what I'm going with.  Still even in these versions, directions and quantities differ wildly.  A lot of drinks go with weird bits of measurements like 1 2/3 ounces bourbon, etc.  I've got no time or day...or night, for that matter, for that!  Besides, no proper mint julep is shy of 2 oz. anyway!!

2 to 3 oz. really good bourbon

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

1/2 ounce simple sugar syrup or 1/3 tsp. sugar mixed with 

   1/2 oz. water

Lots of ice!

Mint sprig

1.  Muddle mint in sugar water---that just means pound the shit of it. 

2.  Add some ice and pour in the Bourbon and stir well until the ice starts to melt and float.  Add more ice, give it a quick extra stir and top with mint sprig. That's it!

Variations:

As I've pointed out, the weird, "subtle" and often unnecessary variations that can be found all over the place, so I won't bother with those, but there are a few that warrant mention.

First of all, there's the one that it is personal to me.  I just happen to like light brown sugar in my mint julep, rather than regular white sugar.  I just "cotton" to the taste that it creates with the bourbon.  So that's my favorite.

Some much more modern versions have people muddling the mint in club soda, rather than plain water or simple syrup.  Others, even more "modern" have a splash of soda poured in in the last minute and stirred.  While, I'm sure this is perfectly refreshing in the heat of July, I'm not so sure how appropriate it is for Derby weekend.  Still, I'm actually going to try one with my mom tomorrow.  She's not a big cocktail drinker, so even my rather implacable ass is going to compromise (shock!).

For kids, there is a non-alcoholic version.  Stateside it is muddled mint topped with club soda or, more commonly, ginger ale.  Over across the pond in England they curiously muddle mint with New World pineapple juice and leave to stand for a few hours, pour the mixture over ice, top with ginger ale.  An earlier version used a combination of pineapple juice, lemon juice, mint and sugar and ginger ale.  All topped with fresh mint sprigs.

These days all types of mint can be grown at home.  We've had Derby Days that two or three types of mint, from Apple Mint to Orange Mint were tried out in juleps.  That's all fair drink play.  One thing though, I don't recommend making them with lavender mint!!  And if you don't like mint..don't drink these.