Ep. 31 Are jul-crazy? - The Mint Julep and Buzzed & Wired

Welcome to the episode 31 of The Art of Drinking with Join Jules and Your Favorite Uncle

What are we drinking?

One of THE most UNDERRATED cocktails the Mint Julep takes a left turn and meets… Jules. Enough said. Well, almost enough. Stick around for the history of the Mint Julep and tips on how to grow great mint! 

Brad’s Classic Mint Julep

• What you’ll need

  • Silver/PewterJulep cup (if you can)

  • Double Rocks (if you can’t)

  • Julep Straw (if you got the julep cup, you better get the julep straw)

  • Lewis bag

  • Wooden hammer (it’ll probably come with the lewis bag)

  • In your glass:

    • 8 mint leaves (but be sure to CLAP and ROLL the mint in the palm of your hand first)

    • 2 oz of bourbon (Woodford… sure, but damn I love me some 4 roses)

    • ½ oz demerara simple syrup (a little more if you like it sweeter)

    • 2 dash angostura bitters

    • Give it a stir

    (Add ice to your Lewis bag and beat the ever lovin’ crap out of it)

    • Add ice to your cup, and stir. Be sure you are pulling the mint from the bottom of your cut to the top, push it back down, and pull it up to the top again. Give it one more stir so all the mint isn’t at the top.

    • Add more ice so it mounds a little over the top of your glass

    • Take the top of a mint sprig (or two) and give it a clap or smack it a few times and place in your glass. Be sure to place it so the mint is close to your nose when you drink, you want the smell and the taste all at once. If you’re feeling extra bougie, add a raspberry, blackberry, even a few blueberries next to your mint sprigs. 

Jules’ Buzzed & Wired

• In a cocktail shaker add:

  • 1 ounce bourbon

  • 2 ounces cold brew or chilled espresso, hey now

  • ½ ounce simple syrup

  • ¾ ounce coffee liqueur

  • 5 mint leaves

  • Ice

  Moderate shake (don’t get angry)

  Strain over freshly cracked ice and garnish with fresh mint

Did you know?

• Between the Kentucky Oaks (held the day before the big race) and the Derby, nearly 120,000 Mint Juleps are served using 10,000 bottles of bourbon and 60,000 lbs of crushed ice, 2,250 lbs of fresh mint

• It’s the first popular cocktail to be served with ice. As ice houses began to pop up using ice as a garnish became popular. Some versions include using hailstones and ice from frozen lakes.

• Kentucky at one point was a part of Virginia and as Virginia encouraged settlement of it's western territory, people brought 2 things with them as they moved west, horses and stills.

• Tedd Roosevet Loved mint juleps

• Ernest Hemmingway had a tantrum in a French bar, smashing his glass against a wall and screaming, "Doesn't anyone in this god-forsaken country know how to make a mint Julep"

Get your Mint Julep history & more by listening to the full podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Tip: How to grow mint

• Plant when the weather is between 55°F-70°F nothing lower

• Grow in a pot

• Cut to stimulate growth

• Water from the base

• Make sure mint is moist but well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade

Julep cup (find on amazon or your local swanky barware place)

Julep straw (find on amazon or your local swanky barware place - called a straw with filter)