Everyone in Kentucky will tell you that their Mint Julep recipe is the best.
They’re all wrong, because mine is the best. 😎
There are a lot of great Mint Julep recipes running around out there, but many of them are labor-intensive, and that’s not what you want when you’re in the middle of a party. This simple-tried-and-true recipe will yield a big batch of Mint Juleps for a decent-sized party with a minimum of fuss. And it makes The Greatest Mint Julep in the World. Everybody says that.
1. Rule number one: You cannot have too much mint. Figure out how many Mint Juleps that you want to make, calculate how much mint that will take, and then double that amount. Or triple it. You cannot have too much mint. OK, so how much is that? At least 8-10 bunches for a party of 20 people. Probably a lot more. You cannot have too much mint. Any farmer’s market should have lots o’ mint in the springtime for no more than 50 cents a bunch. Maybe a buck in these days of rampant inflation. If you’re lucky enough to live reasonably close to a middle eastern or Asian market, you’re guaranteed to be able to buy tons of nice fresh mint and not pay a fortune for it. For centuries middle eastern and Asian cultures have been putting mint in most everything they eat, and if you’re not doing the same, then you’re missing out.
2. Boil a pot of water, a gallon and a half or so, and then stir in a couple of cups of sugar, depending on your mood. You don’t want to make a super-sweet simple syrup, but you need to be able to taste some sweetness. You can use a fancy-dan unrefined sugar if you want to pretend that you’re being sophisticated, but it ain’t gonna change a thing. Good old-fashioned white sugar will do jes’ fine. You’re gonna be drinking whiskey for chrissake.
3. Once the sugar is thoroughly dissolved, remove the pot from its heat source. Set aside three or more of the mint bunches that you’ve bought – Pick out the most beautiful ones, with the fullest leaves. Now, take all the rest of those bunches, one at a time, crush them in your hands to get them thoroughly bruised, and throw them in the pot – Stems and all. When you’re done, stir all of those mint bunches around in the pot until you see a nice, deep green color begin to appear. Now you’re ready for one of the fun parts: Smell your hands! Put ‘em right up to your face! Breathe deep! The aroma of fresh mint is wonderful. It'll fill your kitchen.
4. Let the pot cool, and then decant the contents of your mint tea into any available container(s) – preferably glass jars. Leave the mint in the mix – Stems and all! Put the containers in the refrigerator overnight (you are reading this ahead of time, aren’t you?). The refrigerated mint tea will keep for a few days if you need it to.
5. Ready to make some Mint Juleps? Let’s do it. This next step is optional, but highly recommended. Take your best drinking glasses – Glass tumblers, or silver jubilee cups if your granny left you any in her will – and put them in the freezer for at least 20 minutes – Longer if you can.
6. Get out your fancy-dan high-horsepower blender and grind up a bunch of ice – grind it as fine as you can make it. Dig it out of the blender and put it in a big bowl that you can stick back in your freezer. Or buy a bag of shaved ice. Not crushed, shaved. A real icehouse will have it – if you can find a real icehouse.
7. Pack your (preferably chilled) glass full of snowy ice. Lots of ice. Pour a jigger or two of bourbon over the ice to suit your taste. It doesn't have to be really fancy bourbon, but something decent. As with the sugar, there's no point in going overboard on the bourbon. And if I find out that you made a Mint Julep with some Pappy van Winkle, I will come to your house and strangle you. And then steal your bottle. Anyway, after adding your bourbon fill the rest of your glass with your amazing mint tea. Give the glass a little stir.
8. Take a few stems from some of the mint bunches you set aside in Step 3 and place them vertically into the ice.
9. Put some powdered sugar into a little strainer and dust the mint leaves with it.
10. Now comes the critical part, so pay attention. Pick up your glass and orient the mint leaves towards your nose. Extend your pinkie finger, and as you take a sip of your amazing drink, inhale. You wanna get that amazing mint aroma into your breathing apparatus whilst you get the amazing drink into your gullet. And if you do it right, the powdered sugar on your nose will make you look like John Belushi stumbling out of Studio 54.
11. Reflect on the fact that consuming a Mint Julep is more than just drinking a drink; a Mint Julep is an experience. And it’s what Kentucky in May is all about 😊
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