Mint Julep
ClassicIBA OfficialBourbon, mint, and a frost of crushed ice.
Cool, aromatic, and spirit-forward. Bourbon's vanilla-and-oak warmth is lifted by fresh mint and softened by a little sugar, while a mountain of crushed ice keeps it frost-cold and slowly dilutes it to perfection. The mint sprig does half the work — you smell it with every sip.
Ingredients
- 2.5 oz Bourbon
- 0.5 oz Simple Syrup
- 8 Mint Leaves
- Mint sprig · optional garnish
Method
- 1
Add the mint leaves and simple syrup to a julep cup and gently press to release the oils — do not shred them.
- 2
Add the bourbon and fill the cup halfway with crushed ice.
- 3
Stir until the cup frosts over, then mound with more crushed ice.
- 4
Garnish with a generous mint sprig, placed so you smell it as you drink.
The Story
The Mint Julep is older than the cocktail itself — a descendant of medicinal herb-and-spirit "juleps" that Americans had reworked into a bourbon drink by the early 1800s. Traditionally served in a frosted silver or pewter cup that you hold by the rim to preserve the frost, it became inseparable from the American South and, since 1938, the official drink of the Kentucky Derby. All technique, no shortcuts.
Recipe card
The whole recipe in one shareable image.
