5 ms·

A real mint julep, which I had the pleasure of drinking in New Orleans, is bruised fresh peppermint on the bottom, crushed ice, filled up with premium bourbon,

A real mint julep, which I had the pleasure of drinking in New Orleans, is bruised fresh peppermint on the bottom, crushed ice, filled up with premium bourbon, and a dash of peach liqueur. No water and no sugar. It's a great drink.

JoeAltmaier 3y ago
Another Southerner has a different view: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/mint-julep-recipe-1945324 https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/mint-julep-r...
- mattkrause 3y ago
  No discussion of juleps is complete without Buckner’s classic letter describing the…rite of making one: http://www.thebucknerhome.com/julep/recipe.html http://www.thebucknerhome.com/julep/recipe.html (No peaches here either)
  - at_a_remove 3y ago
    I have, after reading various historical recipes for the mint julep, this fine letter, reviewing the poem recited by higher-end bartenders upon the making of a drink, and so on, settled on my own recipe. I can drink but rarely, so when I do, I try to make an occasion out of it. The "ice" as fine as snow is particularly difficult. You'll want a triple-stitched bag, one that can take heavy pounding. You will also want dry ice. First, because it makes the water ice more brittle, and the second because it keeps your snow crisp, rather than dissolving into a slush. I suspect that there is a machine better suited to the task but I've not gone that far. The mint is more subtle than suspected. Many "muddle" the mint, which is to say crush it with a muddler. This does release the mint oils, but it also releases the more vegetable tastes, particularly the chlorophyll, which alters the flavor profile. No, what is better is to slap the mint across the palm of your hand. This, apparently opens the pores of the mint leaves and allows the oils out while keeping the rest in. I also "round" the mint flavor by adding both spearmint and wintergreen. My other changes are perhaps a little archaic, personal, even radical, but the first two ought ought to improve any julep.
_fullpint 3y ago
What a weird thing to say. This is about the Kentucky Derby, the mint julep is synonymous with the derby. And while that is possibly how they’re done in New Orleans, it’s absolutely not how it is done in Louisville.
seneca 3y ago
While that sounds like a nice summer drink, it's not a mint julep. Liqueurs can also be fairly approximated as "sugar and a little water" with flavoring. So, not all that different. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mint_julep https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mint_julep - Mint julep is a mixed alcoholic drink, or cocktail, consisting primarily of bourbon, sugar, water, crushed or shaved ice, and fresh mint.
- jackfoxy 3y ago
  A "dash" is a very small amount of the liquid. So yes, there is a vanishingly small amount of sugar. It didn't make the drink sweet. There was probably the equivalent of 4 jiggers of bourbon. I forget the name of the glass it was created in, essentially a tall tumbler.
kevinmchugh 3y ago
Take a look at Jerry Thomas's How to Mix Drinks - available for free on Google Books or the Internet Archive. Mint Julep is on page 44.
jdminhbg 3y ago
> crushed ice ... > No water The crushed ice melts and dilutes the drink, as is the case in nearly all cocktails.

JoeAltmaier 3y ago

Another Southerner has a different view: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/mint-julep-recipe-1945324 https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/mint-julep-r...

mattkrause 3y ago
No discussion of juleps is complete without Buckner’s classic letter describing the…rite of making one: http://www.thebucknerhome.com/julep/recipe.html http://www.thebucknerhome.com/julep/recipe.html (No peaches here either)
- at_a_remove 3y ago
  I have, after reading various historical recipes for the mint julep, this fine letter, reviewing the poem recited by higher-end bartenders upon the making of a drink, and so on, settled on my own recipe. I can drink but rarely, so when I do, I try to make an occasion out of it. The "ice" as fine as snow is particularly difficult. You'll want a triple-stitched bag, one that can take heavy pounding. You will also want dry ice. First, because it makes the water ice more brittle, and the second because it keeps your snow crisp, rather than dissolving into a slush. I suspect that there is a machine better suited to the task but I've not gone that far. The mint is more subtle than suspected. Many "muddle" the mint, which is to say crush it with a muddler. This does release the mint oils, but it also releases the more vegetable tastes, particularly the chlorophyll, which alters the flavor profile. No, what is better is to slap the mint across the palm of your hand. This, apparently opens the pores of the mint leaves and allows the oils out while keeping the rest in. I also "round" the mint flavor by adding both spearmint and wintergreen. My other changes are perhaps a little archaic, personal, even radical, but the first two ought ought to improve any julep.

_fullpint 3y ago

What a weird thing to say. This is about the Kentucky Derby, the mint julep is synonymous with the derby. And while that is possibly how they’re done in New Orleans, it’s absolutely not how it is done in Louisville.

seneca 3y ago

While that sounds like a nice summer drink, it's not a mint julep. Liqueurs can also be fairly approximated as "sugar and a little water" with flavoring. So, not all that different. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mint_julep https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mint_julep - Mint julep is a mixed alcoholic drink, or cocktail, consisting primarily of bourbon, sugar, water, crushed or shaved ice, and fresh mint.

jackfoxy 3y ago
A "dash" is a very small amount of the liquid. So yes, there is a vanishingly small amount of sugar. It didn't make the drink sweet. There was probably the equivalent of 4 jiggers of bourbon. I forget the name of the glass it was created in, essentially a tall tumbler.

kevinmchugh 3y ago

Take a look at Jerry Thomas's How to Mix Drinks - available for free on Google Books or the Internet Archive. Mint Julep is on page 44.

jdminhbg 3y ago

> crushed ice ... > No water The crushed ice melts and dilutes the drink, as is the case in nearly all cocktails.