I just returned from Atlanta... doing a little research on all things Southern for our May meeting (well, actually at a Junior League conference...but same thing, philosophically speaking). It was a bit more Georgia "gin & tonic-by-the-hotel-pool" rather than the leisurely Kentucky "juleps-on-the-porch" experience... though I was thrilled to share some fried green tomatoes and pecan little nibblies. Still missing a little the summer-sweet memory of a julep though! But that is what our May LUPEC meeting is for!
Might be just a little story, but tale goes that the Julep came about as a morning refresher in the agricultural regions of the South... guess a little bit of mint tea and some bourbon in the morning makes you right ready for farming at 4am. This cocktail truly gained in popularity after Churchill Downs named it the official cocktail in 1938, serving the icy beverage in the traditional silver cups for 75 cents a glass. It has been the traditional libation of the Kentucky Derby ever since.
When you make this drink at home, it must must must be served in a traditional silver derby cup! Metal just makes it all the more frosty! If your silver collection is still in grandma's hands, you might get away with using those small crayola-colored metal cups we all remember from the 50s, 60s and 70s... but not in front of company. Some beautiful (and affordable) cups at the Silver Gallery:
http://tinyurl.com/cs6t7tSome folks think the traditional julep is a bit sweet and long for citrus to cut the sugar. Being a lover of all things lemon & lime, I can accept this untraditional twist (shhhhhh). Here is a wonderful (eek!) Martha Stewart recipe found at
http://www.yumsugar.com/3098805 :
THE LEMON MINT JULEP
Ingredients
17 lemons
3 1/2 cups sugar
32 sprigs mint
Crushed ice
3 cups Kentucky bourbon
Directions
- Squeeze 16 of the lemons, reserving the rinds and juice.
- In a large saucepan, combine 3 cups of the sugar and 3 cups water, stirring until dissolved. Add the lemon rinds*, and cook over medium heat until the liquid becomes syrupy, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand until room temperature.
- Remove, and discard lemon rinds. Stir in the lemon juice, about 4 cups.
- Spread remaining 1/2 cup sugar on a small plate. Cut the remaining lemon into quarters.
- Rub the wedges along the rims of 16 mint-julep cups or tall glasses, and invert the glasses in the sugar to create a sugared rim.
- Crush a few mint leaves into the bottom of each glass with a muddler or the back of a wooden spoon.
- Fill each glass with ice, and pour 1/2 cup of lemon syrup in each glass. Top off with about 1 1/2 ounces of bourbon per glass. Garnish each glass with a fresh sprig of mint.
Makes 16.
EXTRA GOODIES
Going to be on a Kentucky road trip? Follow the bourbon trail for a little history and taste testing:
http://www.cocktailtimes.com/distillery/kytrail/For armchair travelers, here's a great little book on all things Mint Julep: "The Kentucky Mint Julep" by Colonel Joe Nickell available at
http://www.horse-races.net/library/review-040803.htm
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