This wonderful refreshing drink is very popular in Kentucky. People from Charleston, South Carolina, also like to claim the mint julep as their own. It is always made with fresh mint, bourbon, and plenty of crushed or shaved ice. Traditionally Mint Julep is served at the Kentucky Derby and served in silver or pewter mugs.  According to some Southerners, a Mint Julep is the not the product of a formula, but a ceremony. The drink as we know it today is an American invention.

Mint Julep History:

The mint julep appears to have its roots in the Arab world, according to Chris Morris, master distiller for Woodford Reserve Bourbon and a spirits historian. Morris says today's julep began centuries ago as an Arabic drink called the "julab," which was made from water and rose petals. As the julab migrated to the Mediterranean, that region's indigenous mint replaced the rose petals.

1700s - Mint juleps have been served in the south since the 1700s. A visitor in 1774, describing the southern menu and especially breakfast as being overly luxurious, observed that the average planter rose early and had his drink (because a julep before breakfast was believed to give protection against malaria).

1816 - The Old White Tavern in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, later the Greenbrier Hotel, was famous for its mint juleps. The oldest account book at the resort dates to 1816 and it reveals that guests were ordering “julips” at a cost of twenty-five cents or three for fifty cents.

“I saw here for the first time a hailstorm, that is to say, a mint julep made with a hailstorm around it. The drink is manufactured pretty much as usual and well filled with a quantity of ice chopped in small pieces, which is then put in the shape of a fillet around the outside of the tumbler where it adheres like a ring of rock candy and forms an external icy application to your lower lip as you drink it, while the ice within the glass presses against your upper lip. It is nectar, they say, in this part of the country.”

1865 - Prior to the Civil War (1861-1865), brandy or whiskey was common in a Julep, but after the war and the poverty of the South, gave rise to the use of less expensive bourbon.

1875 - The racetracks' clubhouse began mixing mint juleps around 1875. The drink really became popular and became the track's signature libation in 1938 when the management began charging 75 cents for the drink and the small glass vessel it came in. Every year during Derby week at Churchill Downs, more than 80,000 mint juleps are served.

Kentuckians maintain that when a mint julep is made right, you can hear angels sing. Always made with fresh mint, Kentucky bourbon, and plenty of crushed or shaved ice, it is the official drink of the Kentucky Derby. Traditionally, mint juleps are served in silver or pewter cups (which frost better than glass). Thousands of mint juleps are served every year at the Derby, on the first Saturday in May, at Churchill Downs, and at weekend Derby parties around the nation.

Check out more of Linda's Beverage Recipes.
 

Mint Julep Recipe - How To Make A Mint Julep:

I have tried several recipes and I found that I like making a mint syrup first. They say a Yankee can't make one properly. Since I'm a Yankee, you be the judge!

For Each Serving:
Mint leaves
Crushed ice
2 tablespoons mint syrup (see recipe below)
2 tablespoons water
2 ounces Kentucky bourbon

Crush a few mint leaves in the bottom of an 8-ounce glass; crush mint with a spoon. Then fill with glass with crushed ice. Add mint syrup, water, and bourbon. Stir until glass is frosted.

To serve, garnish with a fresh sprig of mint.
 

Mint Syrup:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 bunch fresh mint sprigs

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and water. Boil for 5 minutes, without stirring. Pour over a handful of mint and gently crush the mint with a spoon.

Refrigerator syrup mixture overnight in a closed jar. Remove mint leaves and continue to refrigerate. This syrup mixture will keep for several weeks.

Substitution for Mint Syrup:  Purchase a bottle of mint syrup (used for flavoring espresso drinks and Italian sodas).

Makes 8 servings.