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I am going to get right to the point today. You have stuff to do I know you do. You don't need to be hanging around here.
Mint Julep serves 4 CLICK here for a printable recipe
- 2 T super fine sugar
- 2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 24 mint leaves, plus 4 sprigs for garnish
- 2 c well crushed or shavedice
- 1 c kentucky bourbon
Combine sugar, lemon juice, and mint leaves in a pitcher. Crush well with a wooden spoon. Add bourbon and stir gently. Pour the mixture into silver tumblers filled to heaping with shaved ice. Garnish with mint sprigs, and serve frosty cold.
Was that direct enough? I wanted to offer that drink right away because it's such an iconic cocktail of spring that there's not really too much I can say about it. Besides there's controversy behind just what constitutes a proper Julep, and I have opinions about that. You know I do. But I am in no mood for all of that today. Because I know some people would never crush or muddle the mint in a proper Julep. But I like mine crushed or muddled. So, there ya go– nuff said. I don't plan to wade into any of that here. I'll leave that to the fussbudgets.
Oh, but I do need to address one rule I have clearly broken. A proper Mint Julep should be served in a sterling silver tumbler. That tumbler should be polished to its brightest sheen. Now I have the perfect tumblers (you know I do) in my cupboard just waiting to to take on that sheen and get filled to heaping with this icy, boozy combination. But I chose these silver-rimmed clear glasses instead. I did that because this is a blog and I wanted you to actually see the cocktail, not just the glass. Also, I think the silver rim brings a little modernity to this traditional libation. Fussbudgets feel free to fuss away in the comments section.
Oh and the reason I decided to make a Mint Julep this late in the season is because The Table Set is having a Garden Party. It promises to be an elegant affair. I might even break out my silver Julep tumblers. Though you can count on the Juleps being anything but traditional!
If you think you might be in the Atwater Village section Los Angeles and would like to attend– call us and let know why. 817-82-FRIES. We just might send you the address! GREG
Greg Henry writes the food blog Sippity Sup- Serious Fun Food, and contributes the Friday column on entertaining for The Back Burner at Key Ingredient. He’s active in the food blogging community, and a popular speaker at IFBC, Food Buzz Festival and Camp Blogaway. He’s led cooking demonstrations in Panama & Costa Rica, and has traveled as far and wide as Norway to promote culinary travel. He’s been featured in Food & Wine Magazine, Los Angeles Times, More Magazine, The Today Show Online and Saveur’s Best of the Web. Greg also co-hosts The Table Set podcast which can be downloaded on iTunes or at Homefries Podcast Network.
- Follow Greg on Twitter @SippitySup
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- Look for Greg's book Savory Pies coming Nov 2012, from Ulysses Press
Comments
Dang......
I've got to do more drinks on my blog, they look like so much fun!
I love that creative image of THE TABLE SET as well as.....
I have one of those!!
While I do have to admit to not being a really, really big mint julep fan, I do enjoy one on occasion... muddled just as you made it. But best of all, I do have one of those silver cups!! It was actually my husband's grandmothers, and she actually got it at a Kentucky Derby oh so many years ago. I have it sitting in my hutch and polish it once in a while, but I think you have motivated me to take it down and use it.
I love classic Southern
I love classic Southern cocktails like this - another favorite of mine is its cousin, the Whiskey Smash ... as for any muddling controversy, I will always defer to how a drink is prepared at Commander' Palace or the Swizzle Stick Bar!
fussbudget
I have plenty to do but I don't want to do it. That's why I'm here. I've been practising to be a fussbudget but I'm not very good at it. To be a proper fussbudget you really have to give a toss and frankly, I don't.
I eat what I like and I drink what I like and I even drink it out of whatever I like.
A mint julep is a mighty fine drink on a hot day. It's eff'n freezing here right now and pouring down rain. I think I could use a hot toddy. Got one?
Mint Julep
This is my first visit to your very beautiful site. You'll hear no fussbudgeting from me! Sure, tradition says a host ought to serve a Mint Julep in a sterling silver julep cup, but I say there are times to break with tradition. And when you want your readers to actually see the drink, as you wrote, and when you've got Dorothy Thorpe glassware, well, the choice is obvious. Every chic '50 hostess used her Dorothy Thorpe glassware, and I say, if you've got it, flaunt it. Thanks for a really terrific post. It is a pleasure to visit your site.
Dorothy Thorpe
I am mad for Dorothy Thorpe I have hundreds (really) of her pieces in my collection. GREG
The Lovely Dorothy Thorpe
Hi Greg, Oh but I do so enjoy making the acquaintance of another Dorothy Thorpe admirer. How wonderful that you have a large collection. I gew up with her silver band glassware, bowls, plates and serving pieces, tableopt decorative pieces (candelabra, etc.) along with a most stunning set of white china. The cups were lined entirely in silver and the dinner plates had a stylized "C" inlaid along the left edge running the entire length of the left border. It was understated elegance and oh so very fifties, not to mention oh so very "my mom". My sister and I spent many hours polishing it all when we were going to trot it out.
Ms. Thorpe made so many beautiful pieces, and I treasure them still. I continue to come across pieces I did not know existed - odd shaped bowls, compotes and serving pieces, candelabra, etc.
Recently I have begun collecting her gold band. When I first saw the gold band, it did not speak to me. I found it somewhat garish - teh gold was just too much. However, over time I have come to appreciate its warm tone, and I find the libations are shown off to particular advantage in it. Make a Negroni in a gold band double rocks glass, and it will be a Negroni like no other.
Thank you for your kind reply and also for your terrific site. I know I will visit often.
bye,
Adri
So a red Solo cup would be
So a red Solo cup would be gauche?
Greg, I so agree with you ...
... about the glass with the silver rim adding a touch of modernity. And I love the way the ice is heaped up, inviting me to take a big swig of julep before that ice makes a big mess!
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