Mint Julep cocktail
Spirit-Forward · Anytime · Autumn

Mint Julep

Mint and sugar muddled in the tin, bourbon over crushed ice, then more ice until it frosts. Cold enough to hurt your hand.

Base
Whiskey
Glass
Julep tin
Method
Muddle
Strength
28% ABV

Ingredients

  • 60 mlBourbon Whiskey1 swap
    Rye whiskeymedium

    Spicier, less sweet

  • 4 sprigsfresh Mint sprigs
  • 1 tspPowdered Sugar
  • 2 tspWater

How to make

Technique
Muddle · 10–15s

Muddling presses the oils and juice out of the fruit or herbs.

  1. In Julep Stainless Steel Cup gently muddle the mint with sugar and water.
  2. Fill the glass with cracked ice, add the Bourbon and stir well until the cup frosts.

Serve

Glass
Julep tinAlso fine: Rocks glass, Highball glass
Garnish
Garnish with a mint sprig.Slap it once and stand it next to the straw.

Taste & nutrition

28%ABV
190kcal
1.52Drinks
StrengthBoozy
Sweet to dryOff-dry

Estimated from ingredient amounts and assumed ABVs — not a lab measurement.

Good to know

  • Press the mint gently; shredding it turns the drink bitter.

History

Year18th–19th century
PlaceSouthern USA
Created byUnknown

Bourbon, sugar and plenty of fresh mint pressed over crushed ice, the Mint Julep is the drink of the American South and the Kentucky Derby. Its name traces back through Persian and Arabic words for a flower-scented syrup, long predating America. Early juleps were medicinal and made with various spirits before bourbon won out. Served in a frosted metal cup, it is summer in a glass.

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