Mint Julep

With summer continuing to grace us with scorching days, we looked to our flourishing pots of mint for cocktail inspiration. It was high time to tried some icy and refreshing mint juleps.

Our recipe is less sweet than many sugary versions that are out there. It is a very strong drink. Bourbon, lots of ice, a touch of sugar, and a hint of mint. The mint is muddled into the drink, but it lends only a subtle flavor. The sprig of mint used as a garnish is for the benefit of your nose.

Mint juleps are traditionally served in a silver or pewter julep cup. I have two vintage pewter julep cups that I dug out of storage for this recipe, and it was so fun to drink out of them that I'm looking forward to using them for future non-julep cocktails! Be sure to grasp them by the rim as you drink, so that you don't ruin the lovely frost (and warm up the drink).

If you're not lucky enough to have inherited pewter julep cups, you can check them out over at amazon.  We can't vouch for any brand in particular, but we do know that it is really fun to drink out of the frosty cups!

This recipe calls for crushed ice, and it really is necessary because you need those smaller ice shards to melt and tone down your very alcoholic beverage. We don't have ice makers in our refrigerators, so we grabbed a hammer, placed our ice cubes in a tea towel, and wailed away. It worked quite well!

Mint Julep

• 3 sprigs of fresh mint

• 1 1/2 tsp powdered sugar

• 3 oz bourbon

• crushed ice

Place 8 or so mint leaves in the bottom of a pre-chilled julep cup or double old-fashioned glass. Add sugar and muddle a bit to bruise the mint leaves. Fill the glass about 2/3 with crushed ice, and pour  in bourbon. Stir everything together (a julep cup will frost), and then pack glass with more ice until it is full. Top drink with a lush sprig of mint. Makes 1 drink.