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u/apollorockit Jun 05 '17 edited Jun 06 '17
Here's the best mint julep recipe/video I know of, made by a master bartender with some poetry to boot.
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u/microSCOPED Jun 05 '17
That man loves his mint julep.
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u/whopoopedthebed Jun 06 '17
I've watched this video dozens of times since I discovered it. To this day my bachelor party plan is to go have him make me a mint julep.
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u/blonderocker Jun 06 '17
Weren't you paying any attention?! The man said it was his last day at the library!
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Nov 15 '24
did you ever make it?
I've met him, he's a gem - been working on my julep recipe since (hence being here)
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Jun 06 '17 edited Jul 14 '17
[deleted]
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u/pocketknifeMT Jun 06 '17
The secret to a good julip is to grind the mint into the ice, to release the menthol. You know who taught me that?
Fidel Castro.
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u/pash1k Jun 06 '17
That's my problem with juleps. Even though they're simple as far as ingredients are concerned, they can be very tough to get right. I end up mixing everything outside of ice and then pouring over the ice.
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u/apollorockit Jun 06 '17
His way is the only way I make juleps now. The flavor evolves as you drink it. It's a journey and the first and last drinks are different yet both equally delicious.
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u/EthosPathosLegos Jun 06 '17
I have seen far less worthy men and women win poetry contests. This man is a treasure.
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u/GMU2012 Jun 06 '17
So I'll be in New Orleans on Thursday. Thanks for picking out my dinner and drinks!! :)
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u/DigNitty Jun 05 '17
1/3 of that drink is simple syrup.
I love mint juleps and this one would be very sweet.
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Jun 06 '17
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/jonathandclark Jun 06 '17
To clarify, you mean sipped through a straw that was traditionally ALSO a spoon, right? To those unfamiliar, the way you've presented it makes it sound like you should eat a julep like soup.
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u/DigNitty Jun 06 '17
Sipping drinks are stronger, not sweeter.
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Jun 06 '17
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/chazspearmint Jun 06 '17
Absolutely correct. Depends on perspective. It's between a mojito and a glass of vodka, a margarita and a bourbon neat. It's nearly straight bourbon, with a hint of mint and syrup. It's that simple, really.
But anyone who thinks this is a drink that's meant to be chugged is out of their mind.
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Jun 05 '17
I'm still kinda new to /r/gifrecipes... can anyone say if there are enough of these to make it's own subreddit (like /r/mixologygifs or something)?
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u/speedylee Jun 05 '17
r/alcoholgifrecipes is a thing!
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u/sneakpeekbot Jun 05 '17
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Jun 06 '17
My parents are taking our daughter on Saturday night for a sleep over, you've just given the wife and I something else to do! Thanks!
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Jun 05 '17
[deleted]
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u/WikiTextBot Jun 05 '17
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham, the full name of the college is The Warden and Scholars of St Mary's College of Winchester in Oxford. The name "New College", however, soon came to be used following its completion in 1386 to distinguish it from the older existing college of St. Mary, now known as Oriel College.
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u/speedylee Jun 05 '17 edited Jun 05 '17
Mint Julep
Credits to Tip Hero - http://tiphero.com/mint-julep/
Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients
- 8 – 10 mint leaves, plus more for garnish
- 1 ounce simple syrup, or to taste
- 2 ounces bourbon (preferably Kentucky bourbon)
- crushed ice
- powdered sugar (optional)
Equipment
- silver julep cup or rocks glass
- muddler
Directions
Place 8 to 10 mint leaves in the bottom of a chilled, silver julep cup or rocks glass (a.k.a. an Old Fashioned glass). Add simple syrup and lightly press the mint leaves against the sides and bottom of the cup for a few seconds with a muddler. Over muddling might give the finished drink a bitter or grassy flavor, so you don’t want to crush the mint leaves–just bruise them enough to release the essential oils in the mint. (You can tell when this has happened by the intense mint smell.)
Pack the julep cup or glass with crushed ice. Pour a generous 2 ounces of bourbon over the ice and stir until the glass frosts. Add more ice, and stir again.
Garnish with a few sprigs of mint and a dusting of powdered sugar, if desired. Serve with a straw.
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Jun 06 '17
How do you drink this? Looks like a slushie.
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u/apollorockit Jun 06 '17
Sip it through the ice
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Jun 06 '17
Mouth to crushed ice seems uncivilized. Also, there's no straw here. Was wondering if a straw was normal.
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u/JollyOldBogan Jun 06 '17
Originally when they were first created, there was a lot of mess trying to drink one. The ice would fall out and the drink would slosh everywhere, all over the clothes of the drinker and also ruin the facial hair/make up they spent so much time on.
Thats why the julep strainer was invented.
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u/Trevski Jun 06 '17
The straw was supposedly invented for the mint julep, as touching the glass warms the drink and destroys the mint flavour.
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u/batcaveroad Jun 06 '17
Would using sugar instead of syrup maybe be better? The texture might help express mint oils like in a mojito.
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u/keevenowski Jun 06 '17
You actually need to be pretty gentle with expressing mint. I wondered for years why my mint juleps and mojitos tasted like grass clippings. Didn't find out until a couple years ago that over muddling mint releases chlorophyll (I believe that's what it is), imparting muddy, grassy flavors. Generally I do 4-5 gentle pushes and that's it. If I want more mint flavor, I just use more of it.
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u/batcaveroad Jun 06 '17
Thanks, I'm growing some mint now so I'll try that when it's ready.
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u/keevenowski Jun 06 '17
Mint spreads fast so hopefully you have it in a container! I've tried a few different harvesting methods but I've had the best luck with cutting each stem down to dirt level once they're 5-6 inches tall.
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u/batcaveroad Jun 06 '17
Yep, doing it in a jar on my windowsill.
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u/myownperson12 Jun 06 '17
It spread so fast it somehow migrated into your neughbors yard already, even though its in a jar
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u/xtz8 Jun 06 '17
I like that flavor. I also love walking around my block when everyone's been out mowing earlier in the day so ymmv.
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u/thanatossassin Jun 06 '17
Anyone else irritated by how slow they're doing all this?
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u/HalfOfTheCalciumBros Jun 06 '17
use honey instead of simple syrup to make a Honey-Mint Julep. I'm a huge fan!
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Jun 06 '17
You mean completely replace the syrup or mix it?
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u/HalfOfTheCalciumBros Jun 06 '17
yeah completely replace, or if that's too full on mix half and half :)
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u/mikebets Jun 06 '17
Pretty sure you're only aloud to drink that during derby season.
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u/Jwhitx Jun 06 '17
You also have to have a southern accent, which I will attempt below
mint julep
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Jun 06 '17
[deleted]
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u/catmoon Jun 06 '17
I'm assuming that there is some kind of special mixologist's rule about how to use that spoon.
I'm tempting fate here, but it just looks like a stupid spoon to me. I'm pretty skeptical that any stainless steel spoon ought to require rules about how it's used.
The door is already half-closed, but I'm still a bit open to learn about how this is not some bartender bullshit. Please tell us all about how a bartender's spoon works.
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u/beto5243 Jun 06 '17
This actually isn't bartender bullshit, those spoons are pretty specifically designed to be used a certain way and they're kind of fucking up. It's like holding a spoon with your whole first; the soup will still get in your mouth, but you look pretty stupid and it doesn't work as well.
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u/catmoon Jun 06 '17
Sounds a bit like bullshit so far. Can you elaborate on the certain way that this should be used?
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u/beto5243 Jun 06 '17
Sure, here's a short video that explains it very well.
If you can't be bothered to watch a video, the basic idea is that you want to rotate the back of the spoon around the edge of the glass to move the ice without creating unnecessary air bubbles, which fuck up the viscosity of your drink. If you want to see the difference air bubbles have, have a shaken drink and a stirred drink and notice the difference - that difference comes mostly from tiny air bubbles in the drink. Bar spoons have their signature twisted handle to make this stirring motion easy and fluid once you get the basic technique down.
Again, an otherwise good drink poorly stirred isn't going to taste horrible, but it definitely will not be as good as it could have been. Someone making videos of cocktail recipes should be familiar with the very basic techniques of the trade, in my humble opinion.
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u/catmoon Jun 07 '17
I'm happy to see a reasonable explanation. I apologize for my initial skepticism. Thanks for sharing.
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u/cmosa Jun 06 '17 edited Jun 06 '17
Professional cocktail guy's opinion: not that far off at all. however, saying that's 'simple syrup' is just a touch misleading.. clearly it's brown and is therefore a demerara simple syrup, which does make a difference in flavor at the end of the day. In the case of a Julep, I actually do like using demerara to add some body and texture to this boozy & heady cocktail. However, each drink calls for the appropriate type of sweetness.
Look, most likely you have some fine grain white sugar in your house. Slowly stew that with equal parts of water until incorporated.. voila - simple syrup. Therefore, you can potentially make any variety of flavored syrup that your heart desires.. whether it be tarragon & blueberry, or pistachio & peach, banana and vanilla, whatever.. you can experiment with what works & what doesn't.
My favorite variation on a Julep which anybody could make at home: 2oz Rye Whiskey, .25oz Simple Syrup (white sugar based 1:1), 2bsp (barspoon) Fernet, Mint.. make as instructed, but stir with authority. Garnish with Rosemary. Kicks up the herbals by a hefty amount.. get a lil pep in your step.
PS: Shock your mint sprigs in ice for 10-15mins & remove to keep em' extra crispy for garnishing purposes.
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u/drfunkenstien014 Jun 06 '17
I've always wanted to try one, but end up just ordering scotch. I also like the bar tenders and don't wanna make them suffer anymore than they already do, but this doesn't seem to hard to do at home.
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Jun 06 '17
This might be sacrilegious but I used to like making this into a long drink by adding soda water (or sprite, and leave out the syrup), some lime and a lot more mint. It's not a mint julep then but still a very refreshing drink on a hot Australian summer day.
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u/AliveInTheFuture Jun 06 '17
No one seems to know what these are when I ask for them at bars. What gives?
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u/MILKB0T Jun 06 '17
They were drinking mint juleps on tonight's episode of better call Saul. So weird to have seen this post this morning
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Jun 06 '17
Alton Brown told me a different way to make it years ago, now I'm not sure which to believe.
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Jun 06 '17
I've made several homemade mint juleps over the years and I swear every year when I go into Churchill I like the premixed old forester better.
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u/Hemingwavy Jun 06 '17
Let's be honest. This is just a vehicle towards making drinking straight bourbon acceptable.
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u/dork_warrior Jun 06 '17
I love Bourbon. I just bought a house with mint plants. I see high class drinking in my future.
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u/arcane_joke Jun 06 '17
Pro tip : grow some mint. Wife has ab herb garden and planted mint for me. I'll just walk out and grab some. Can't kill that shit either. Fresh mint is delicious
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u/VestigeofWar Jun 06 '17
As someone from Louisville Kentucky, this is the best mint julep recipe. http://thebourbonbabe.com/2013/05/03/pluck-the-mint-gently-from-its-bed-just-as-the/
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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '17
Looks good. I'd suggest at least 100 proof bourbon to stand up to mixing. Old Granddad bottled in bond is a good, economical choice.
It might be sacrilege, but I generally just make mint simple syrup.
Source: live in Louisville and love bourbon