• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Ruhlman
  • About
  • My Books
  • My Kitchen Essentials
  • Press
  • CV
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • My Books
  • My Kitchen Essentials
  • Press
  • CV
  • Contact
×

Friday Cocktail Hour: The Mint Julep

Published: May 1, 2021 by Michael Ruhlman · 1 Comment

julep
With just three ingredients and crushed ice this is one of the best cocktails there is.

Today we’ll be drinking mint juleps, of course. A julep, of course, is a category of cocktail primarily defined by the way the spirit is served, over crushed ice in a julep cup or Tom Collins glass (which I’ve always called a highball). Simon Diffords describes a number of them here.

The bourbon mint julep is best known, customrary on this day of the Kentucky Derby, and one of the older cocktails on record. I loved the following from an unsigned article on liquor.com.

The Mint Julep gained prominence in the southern United States during the 18th century, and it first appeared in print in 1803 in John Davis’ book “Travels of Four and a Half Years in the United States of America.” He wrote that the Mint Julep is a “dram of spirituous liquor that has mint steeped in it, taken by Virginians of a morning.” An ice-cold whiskey drink is certainly one way to start your day.

I’ll stick to a poached egg on toast in the morning, I think. But today, on May Day, for the actual Derby, proper mint juleps.

There are many ways to prepare them, none of them wrong except not using crushed ice. I've tried all kinds of variations but the standard muddling is still the best. I prefer simply syrup as opposed to sugar. If I'm making more than one, I'll mix with muddled mint in a shaker, muddle glasses as well with mint, fill them with crushed ice, shake and pour, garnish with mint, serve with straw, which makes it much easier to drink.

The Mint Julep

One of the oldest cocktails on record
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Course Cocktail
Cuisine American
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 10 mint (or more if you wish)
  • 1 cupful crushed ice
  • 2 ounces bourbon
  • ½ ounce simple syrup (1 tablepoon)

Instructions
 

  • In a julep cup or Collins glass, muddle the mint leaves.
  • Fill the glass with ice.
  • Add the bourbon and simply syrup, and stir.
  • Garnish with a sprig of mint (and serve with a straw).
Keyword Bourbon, bourbon cocktails
« Friday Cocktail Hour: The Little Italy
Friday Cocktail Hour:
The Mezcal Sour
»

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. lalbagh pin code

    December 01, 2024 at 3:57 pm

    I do believe all the ideas you've presented for your post. They are really convincing and will certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are too short for novices. May just you please lengthen them a little from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Michael Ruhlman, an award-winning author and cook who writes about chefs, food and cooking, among other things.

More about me →

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

See my books!

Ratio App for iPhone

After I wrote my book Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking, a colleague and I built a ratio calculator for iPhones that allows you to cook without recipes. For doughs, batters, custards, sauces, stocks and more, simply plug in the amount of one ingredient and the amounts of the other ingredients are instantly calculated. It's also a handy reference for dozens of our most common preparations. ($4.99 in the app store.)

Collaborate

I’ve collaborated on a dozen books, including cookbooks and a memoir. If you'd like to collaborate on a project, please contact my agent, Gail Hochman, [email protected], at Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, Inc.

For speaking engagements contact, Kip Ludwig, [email protected].

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up for my bimonthly newsletter.

Contact

  • Contact
  • FAQ

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2020 Brunch Pro on the Brunch Pro Theme