I didn't jump on the mint julep bandwagon last year because I thought that mint juleps weren't very good- all sweet and syrupy and you could only drink one before you came down with a cosmopolitan-like sugar headache.
But as I've been experimenting with different forms of muddling (this is what I do for fun), it was time to face the music and see if I could make a mint julep that wasn't god- awful.
I was lazy and decided not to make simple syrup for my mint julep. Simple syrup is just sugar in water, melted into syrup. Many restaurants are making specialty flavored simple syrups to go into specific cocktails, but I'm not at that level of experimentation just yet.
So I just used powdered sugar in water (this is a legitimate recipe; don't make fun of me), muddled with mint leaves and topped with ice and bourbon. On first sip the ingredients are all separate on the tongue, but after sitting for just a minute or two (one mint julep recipe insists you let the flavors blend for "at least three minutes"), this drink becomes amazing.
Now I get it! A mint julep is not a sugary drink, nor is it a mint-and-whiskey drink. The mint juleps I've had in the past had way too much simple syrup in them, making them so sweet as to overwhelm the whiskey. And the combination of mint and bourbon changes both flavors like magic to make the mint taste less minty and the bourbon taste both less harsh and also fresh as a Kentucky breeze. Consider me converted.
Now that I know how wonderful the average old do-it-yourself-at-home mint julep tastes, I had better get out to the bars and try some made by professionals before derby season.
