Happy Derby eve! I found it somewhat hard to believe in my couple years writing about drinks, I’ve yet to make a mint julep. This needs to be rectified immediately. Especially since I’m going to be serving them to a small gathering we’re hosting for the Derby, so I should probably practice making one right? Exactly.
I chose Jim Meehan’s version of the julep since he hasn’t steered me wrong when it comes to cocktails, so I figured it was a pretty safe bet that his would be pretty good.
Mint Julep
2.5 oz. Booker’s Bourbon (I used Four Roses)
.5 oz. Simple syrup
8 Mint leaves, plus 3 mint sprigs for garnish
Muddle the mint leaves and simple syrup in a chilled julep cup. Add the bourbon and top with pebble ice. Swizzle, then top with more pebble ice. Garnish with 3 mint sprigs.
Yes, I know I made this in a mule mug and not a Julep cup. I don’t own a Julep cup, and I figured this would be an acceptable substitute, and beggars can’t be choosers here. Anyway, The drink has little to no aroma here to my surprise. What is there is mostly mint, with a few hits of whiskey mixed in there. I would have thought the mint would have showed up a little more here since it has such a strong smell. Another surprise is the near lack of any bourbon scent as well. Though the pile of crushed ice* on top may be smothering it a little bit.
*As noted above, the recipe calls for “pebbled ice”. However I was working with whole cubes so a ziploc bag and a meat mallet worked to get me crushed ice, and that was as good as it was going to get.
The sip is cold, smooth and refreshing. The bourbon isn’t overpowering, but you can certainly taste it. The simple syrup adds a lot of sweetness which helps make this a bit more drinkable. Especially if you’re knocking these back outside on a warm to hot day. The sweet mint and whiskey flavor stays consistent throughout the entire sip since that’s all that we’re working with here. Though letting the ice melt a little bit will water it down and dilute the flavors as a whole. Assuming you even let it get to that point…
My opinion? I think it’s a bit over hyped. There is beauty in simplicity sure, but this just seems….meh. It’s good, don’t get me wrong. I’m not going to turn one down to me if offered, but I think the flavors are a little flat. Especially with as much hype, pomp, and circumstance as this has around it thanks to it being associated with the Derby. If I have mint and bourbon on hand, I think I would rather make a whiskey smash. It has the same ingredients, but with added lemon. That makes a ton of difference. The lemon adds a little more zip that I think this is missing. So ahead and get the ingredients for both and mix them both up for the derby. Now I’m going to go back to researching horses for my Trifecta Box.
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Need to try this with blackberries and the lemon.
When we moved into this house I was most excited to have a fridge that gives me water, and 2 types of ice. I am a simple man but have never had that before in my life and my wife looked at me like I was some kind of weirdo. Then my bff and her hubby came over who are also looking for a house and all he wants is an island in their kitchen as he has never had one of those so he understood my happiness at an ice maker.
I thought I wanted an island too, until I had one. It was an obstacle in the middle of the kitchen, I hated it. This house doesn’t have one. It also doesn’t have a working dishwasher, which is not the huge pain in the ass I thought it would be. I’ll get one eventually, I have to get a plumber out first to reroute the overflow thing. But handwashing them is kind of chillaxing, weird huh?
The ice-making/water dispensing fridge was like the microwave or garage door opener; i.e., how the fuck did we ever live without one???
Agree on the kitchen island. We have a small round table instead and it’s a much better solution for us. Maybe we just need a bigger kitchen, but that would require moving to Indiana or perhaps Somalia.
We had an old tradition of going to Hollywood Park on Derby Day and many of these were quaffed. I miss Hollywood Park. Stupid SoFi Stadium.
Went there a few times; that place was trash, but in a good (drunk) way.
When I was in El Segundo it was right down the damn street. Grab a bag of peanuts a large beer and a Holly dog?
That’s living.
Hot take: pebbled ice detracts from enjoying almost any drink, especially this one
You gonna drink a cherry limeade with one of those big clear hipster ice sphears?
why would anyone drink a cherry limeade
(water) pistols at dawn, good Sir!
also known as Anger Management around these parts
I was joking with Mrs. Sharkbait about how I should have made it after the Ice Giants game 1 triple overtime loss for that exact reason.
Down the memory hole…
“Hell, this clubhouse scene right below us will be almost as bad as the infield. Thousands of raving, stumbling drunks, getting angrier and angrier as they lose more and more money. By midafternoon they’ll be guzzling mint juleps with both hands and vomiting on each other between races. The whole place will be jammed with bodies, shoulder to shoulder. It’s hard to move around. The aisles will be slick with vomit; people falling down and grabbing at your legs to keep from being stomped. Drunks pissing on themselves in the betting lines. Dropping handfuls of money and fighting to stoop over and pick it up.”
https://sensitiveskinmagazine.com/hunter-s-thompson-the-kentucky-derby-is-decadent-and-depraved/
Yeah, I suspect the julep is a situational drink (“I want to drink a lot of cheap bourbon on a hot day”) than a well-crafted cocktail.
Situational is a perfect descriptor for this. Good, but only under certain circumstances
“Situational Drunk” would be a great album title.
Made them once, maybe 15 years ago (on Derby Day of course), and was not impressed. Used the Boston guide. Found the whole experience a bit meh.
Would probably be better at Churchill while wearing a stupid hat.
is the stupid hat the cause or the effect of the drinking?
Yes