How To: Mint Julep
While we’re admittedly ones to often reach for a classic Old-Fashioned during the winter, when we need something a bit brighter, an easy way to keep it in the family is with a Mint Julep. A Julep is, in essence, a particularly refreshing Old-Fashioned and features a simple build — making it easy to create at home. Try one with our recipe below, featuring Woody Creek Bourbon.
1 mint bouquet
2 oz Woody Creek Bourbon
0.25 oz simple syrup
Rub the interior of a Julep tin with the mint bouquet, then set the mint aside. Add the bourbon and syrup and fill the tin halfway with crushed ice. Holding the tin by the rim, stir, churning the ice as you go, for about 10 seconds. Add more crushed to fill the tin about two thirds full and stir until the tin is completely frosted. Add more ice to form a cone above the rim. Garnish with the mint bouquet and serve with a straw.
Experimenting with other herbs
Mint is a wonderfully versatile herb for cocktails. It can be incorporated via muddling or steeping, or it can aromatize the top of a drink when it’s used as a garnish. That said, we highly recommend playing with the Julep template by substituting other herbs, whether other mint varieties or basil, sage, or even thyme. When substituting herbs, you may want to use them simply as an aromatic garnish, or you might try extracting their flavor through an infusion or syrup instead. Now have mint on the mind? Pick up an Aurora Highball.
