Sunday, May 08, 2005

Mmmmm...minty.


Mint Julep
Originally uploaded by The Smooze.
Though there was no hope of a Derby Party yesterday - what with Sarah studying and us far away from the Bluegrass, but I was undeterred, crafting a mighty fine mint julep.

The recipe:

1 julep cup or "old fashioned" type glass (we own a julep cup, but it's off limits since it was a wedding gift from our college President)
1 tablespoon hot water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 oz. good Kentucky Bourbon
5 fresh mint sprigs
bunch of crushed ice

Place four of the mint sprigs in the bottom of a separate cup and pour the tablespoon of hot water over them. Add sugar to the mixture and allow to steep until the water cools, making sure the sugar dissolves. Then muddle the leaves in the water with a muddler (or the back of a wooden spoon, like I did). Strain the mint leaves out of the water and then squeeze them over the glass so as to get all the delicious mintiness out of them. Discard mint leaves. Add bourbon and stir. Fill julep cup to overflowing with crushed or shaved ice, preferably making a rounded top like a snowcone. Pour bourbon/syrup mixture over ice. Add straw and place last mint sprig so you get a big whiff of mint when you sip from straw. Enjoy responsibly.

There are all sorts of recipes out there to make massive amounts of mint julep mix, but I've found this one to make a pretty good one serving version. Also, I did not think Giacomo would win yesterday, though I did go on record saying I didn't think any of the favorites would win. Unfortunately, I placed no bets.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you sing "My Old Kentucky Home" too?

Nicholas said...

Of course.

Pamela said...

I made a couple derby pies. Mmmmmmm...