Mint Julep

Recipe from Chris McMillian

Adapted by Pableaux Johnson

Updated May 2, 2019

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
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Total Time
5 minutes
Rating
4(988)
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The mint julep is, as Chris McMillian of the Library Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton hotel calls it, “the very dream of drinks, the vision of sweet quaffings.” Thousands of juleps are poured at Churchill Downs during the Kentucky Derby, but any time is right for a sweet sip of bourbon from a metal cup. Don't forget the bouquet of mint, which provides an essential aromatic pleasure as you sip. —Pableaux Johnson

Featured in: And Now, a Sip of History: The Mint Julep, Personified

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Ingredients

Yield:1 drink

  • 12 to 15 fresh mint leaves, plus one sprig for garnish

  • 1 ounce simple syrup (or peach-flavored syrup)

  • 2 ½ ounces bourbon

  • Superfine sugar (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

22 grams carbs; 259 calories; 17 milligrams sodium; 22 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place mint and ¼ ounce simple syrup in julep cup or 8- to 10-ounce old-fashioned glass and gently crush leaves with a wooden muddler, working them up sides of glass.

  2. Step 2

    Loosely pack glass with finely crushed ice, then add bourbon. Drizzle remaining simple syrup on top and garnish with mint sprig lightly dusted with sugar, if desired.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
988 user ratings
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Comments

Kevin Patterson

While this fine for the day of, my grand father made his juleps a year in advance by combining the mint and simple syrup with the bourbon for about 7 days in a stock pot. Drained through coffee filters back into the bottles and left to mellow until next Derby Day the result is nothing short of heavenly. Cheers everyone!

Keith 77

If you make a simple syrup (as we prefer to) make it a day ahead of time and soak your mint leaves in it while it is still warm and keep them there until ready for use. Skip the peach.

Virginia Simmon

I grew up in Kentucky, and to paraphrase the recipe in my 1958 "Kentucky Cooking New and Old" cookbook by the Colonelettes, you muddle a bit of powdered sugar, 1 mint leaf, and a small glug of bourbon in the bottom of your ancestral silver julep cup. Fill the cup with crushed ice, then bourbon to the top, garnish with a mint leaf for aroma, and sip. Unmatched.

Mr. Breaker

As my mentor used to say: best done with cane sugar and Wild Turkey 101Proof! RiP Orsetto, king of all Bartenders!

M

We use the specific variety of mint used at the derby: the Kentucky Colonel. I highly recommend. The leaves are especially beautiful. Frankly, some varieties have a slightly less appetizing appearance. And as with all mint plants, it is easy and eager to grow.

Colonel Koon

I have made many mint juleps as my wife and I had a KYentucky Derby party for 22 years. The ice - The best ice (and the type used at Churchill Downs) is shaved ice. We used to get it at a grocery with a fresh fish counter (we went to Whole Foods). The fishmonger was always glad to give us an ice chest of the shaved ice.

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Credits

Adapted from Chris McMillian, Library Lounge, Ritz-Carlton Hotel,New Orleans

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