Classic cocktails · Bourbon · IBA official
A silver cup so cold it grows a coat of frost, a crown of mint that hits your nose before the first sip, and bourbon softened by sugar and melting ice. On a hot afternoon this is Southern hospitality in liquid form.
2 oz
bourbone.g. Maker's Mark · Buffalo Trace · Woodford Reserve · Wild Turkey · Jim Beam
8 leaves
mint leaves plus a large sprig to garnish
¼ oz
simple syrup 1:1; replaces 1 tsp sugar and 2 tsp water
Garnish: Large mint sprig · Ice: Crushed ice
Mint Julep
Cold, minty and bourbon-rich with vanilla and caramel notes, gently sweet. Strong at first, softening as the crushed ice melts.
Juleps are older than the cocktail itself. The word goes back through Arabic and Persian to a term for rosewater, and in 18th and early 19th century America a julep was often a morning dram of spirit sweetened and flavored with mint. In Virginia and elsewhere it was made with brandy, rum or whiskey, whatever was at hand.
Bourbon took over in the South during the 19th century, and the drink's modern identity is tied to the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, where the Mint Julep has been the official drink since 1938 and is served in huge numbers every May. The frosted silver or pewter julep cup is part of the ritual. The International Bartenders Association lists the Mint Julep among its Contemporary Classics.
A metal julep cup, ideally silver or pewter, because it frosts. A rocks glass works if you have nothing else.
Yes, it is essentially 60 ml of bourbon with sugar and mint, softened only by melting ice.
It has been the official drink of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs since 1938.
The perfect sound
Derby day under shady porch trees.
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