"Jeff" emailed me asking about some Mint Julep mix that he had purchased somewhere in Natchez. Could they ship more to him, and how much would it cost, he asked. While I was happy to ask the local merchant about this, I also gave Jeff a recipe - one of many I know of - so he could make his own. It's not particularly difficult, but depending on your geographical area you may not have a ready supply of mint leaves. If you can get those, here's the recipe as I told it to him:
-Take a few leaves of mint (it grows like crazy here) and put them in the bottom of a tall glass. A really good julep goes in a pewter cup to keep it cold.
-Muddle the leaves with some simple syrup. Simple syrup is just sugar water cooked down a bit to make it concentrated - syrupy.
-FILL the glass with crushed, or better yet - shaved, ice.
-Pour at least 2 ounces of good whiskey over the ice.
-Stir gently so you mix the ingredients without melting too much ice.
-Sip like a gentleman (or a lady).
Of course, you can play with the amounts of the different ingredients to suit your own taste. Some like more mint, some like more sugar. I like more whiskey.
In the way of background, allow me to offer a few explanations of the procedure:
- "Muddling" is just kind of crushing the leaves and mixing them so the flavor comes out without leaving too many tiny green specks all in your drink.
- Before the days of refrigerators, you can imagine that ice was precious. The pewter cup kept your drink cold and let the ice slowly dilute the drink.
- Some have made the julep with Southern Comfort. I prefer the taste of good whiskey instead.
- Some cheat and make their julep with Creme de Menthe. I suppose that in a pinch I'd understand that, but my first response would be "Yechhhhh!"
Be aware that some folks take such a liking to mint juleps that they find themselves spending a lot of time sipping one under the oak tree, watching other people work, making their womenfolk wear big hats and dresses, and calling their dog "Beauregard."
You've been warned.
