The Mint Julep

[eje]

It is in fact essential. Lacking a huge block of ice to shave, I rely on the ol' Lewis bag or one of a number of canvas sacks I've managed to accumulate (Tony Abou Ghanim's new TAG Bar line has a great one--bigger than the Lewis, but not so large as to be unwieldy). Just put the ice in and whack the bejeezus out of it. You want it to become as fine as snow, with lumps no bigger than 1/4 inch or so.

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Neat! I hadn't been aware of this effort. Looks like the website launched late last year:

Ultimate Bar Chef

Lots of good stuff here:

Ultimate Bar Chef Accessories

Lewis Bag

[David Santucci]

Just put the ice in and whack the bejeezus out of it.

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With what do you whack it?

[slkinsey]

Meat mallet. Baseball bat. Small cast iron pan. Hefty muddler. Hammer. Cat. Rolling pin. Whatever. The important thing is that you want to end up with minimal bejeezus when you're done.

Edited May 10, 2007 by slkinsey (log)

[Splificator]

Meat mallet.  Baseball bat.  Small cast iron pan.  Hefty muddler.  Hammer.  Cat.  Rolling pin.  Whatever.  The important thing is that you want to end up with minimal bejeezus when you're done.

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I use a souvenir mini-Louisville Slugger, but Sam's grasped the essence of the thing. If using a cat, I find that it's best to have it declawed first.

I should also note that I use the Lewis bag for any ice going into the cocktail shaker--it really makes a difference in the temperature and texture of the drink. Wisdom of the ancients, what what.

[ThinkingBartender]

Just put the ice in and whack the bejeezus out of it.

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With what do you whack it?

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I use a spanner (monkey wrench).

[chappie]

First off, I have yet to understand this nonsense I've read over the years about "gently bruise a few mint leaves." I learned this from the lessons passed down to my mom from my granddad, who apparently in his day was quite a partying gentleman, but I want the most mint essense I can get.

My strategy: pick a bunch of mint. Place a tight handful in cocktail shaker with a smallish grab of granulater sugar (the grains help extract mint). Muddle and mash for quite awhile, then pour in bourbon and a chunk of ice and shake for quite awhile longer.

Pour over crushed ice (or any ice you have) and top with a sprig of mint.

I have never heard anyone complain about these.

[ThinkingBartender]

I have never heard anyone complain about these.

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Well, maybe they waited until your back is turned.

The flavour of the mint comes from the oil in the leaves, and not from mashing up the vegetal structure of the leaves. The essence of the mint is best extracted with just enough force to make the leaves bleed.

So you see, it is not nonsense, you just don't understand it.

If you are going to shake your Juleps, there isn't really any need to muddle the mint leaves, as the ice will bruise the leaves plenty enough.

Cheers!

George

Edited May 12, 2007 by ThinkingBartender (log)

[thirtyoneknots]

When first getting into the whole cocktail thing I also mashed the mint into a pulp, and I thought it was fine until I tried it the other way. Mashing into paste makes a much more bitter drink (and not in a good way) and so needs more sugar to make drinkable. WHen the leaves are lightly bruised the mint essence is still released, and is more in harmony with the flavor of the booze, and much less sugar is needed, creating (to my taste) a more balanced drink. I'd give it a shot that way at least, and if you can let the mint sit a while in the sugar and water before adding the ice and booze, even better. If you prefer the other way, by all means continue to make them that way.

-Andy

[johnder]

I personally am of the lightly bruise mint rather than making a pesto category. I find it much more aromatic and bright when you lightly bruise the mint as opposed to crushing it down into a paste. Not to mention that you get all these mint flecks into your teeth when you have a paste.

[KatieLoeb]

I humbly confess I've done the "cheater's method" with juleps and made minted simple syrup in advance by adding 1 part freshly picked mint leaves to 3 parts hot boiled simple syrup in the blender and whirring it all to a pulp. I let it cool overnight in the fridge and then strain it the next day. Leaves tiny little green fleks in the simple without big chunks of leafy detritus in the glass. It works fine on it's own or with a small number of freshly torn mint leaves lightly muddled to have some vegetation in the glass if you're feeling it's utterly necessary.

[thirtyoneknots]

I humbly confess I've done the "cheater's method" with juleps and made minted simple syrup in advance by adding 1 part freshly picked mint leaves to 3 parts hot boiled simple syrup in the blender and whirring it all to a pulp.  I let it cool overnight in the fridge and then strain it the next day.  Leaves tiny little green fleks in the simple without big chunks of leafy detritus in the glass. It works fine on it's own or with a small number of freshly torn mint leaves lightly muddled to have some vegetation in the glass if you're feeling it's utterly necessary.

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In my experience homemade mint syrup tastes about like using mint that was left out on the counter for as long as the syrup has been made (as in it has that fresh of a flavor). A day after making it it tasted like brown mint. blech.

[slkinsey]

Yea, IMO mint syrup has a kind of off-flavor -- especially if hot-extracted, which makes it taste "cooked" -- and the flavor also deteriorates rather quickly.

I'm also not sure that the Julep is meant to have "maximum mint." Rather, it should have just a hint of mint, along with the other flavors. And, as others have observed, if the mint is handled to aggressively, it releases bitter flavors that have to be balanced with additional sweetness. This treatment has most likely led to the "bourbon-flavored sweet mint snow cone" school of overly sweet Juleps.

[thirtyoneknots]

Yea, IMO mint syrup has a kind of off-flavor -- especially if hot-extracted, which makes it taste "cooked" -- and the flavor also deteriorates rather quickly.

I'm also not sure that the Julep is meant to have "maximum mint."  Rather, it should have just a hint of mint, along with the other flavors.  And, as others have observed, if the mint is handled to aggressively, it releases bitter flavors that have to be balanced with additional sweetness.  This treatment has most likely led to the "bourbon-flavored sweet mint snow cone" school of overly sweet Juleps.

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I think this is just another symptom of the trend of overly sweet drinks. Many people do not view excessive sweetness, and certainly not powerful mint flavor, to be minuses. Mint is a flavor everyone knows. Bourbon is not. The more a drink tastes like a familiar flavor vs liquor the more successful it will be with the masses.

[jsmeeker]

I wanted to check back in and give a report on my mint julep making the other weekend.

This was happening at a hotel, prior to a party at a ballroom at the hotel. I wound up not having time to infuse syrup or bourbon with mint leaves. But I don't think that wound up being a problem.

I bought a ton of mint, a bottle of Jim Beam, and made some simple syrup. I put a lot of mint to the bottom of the glasses. Added a nice squirt of syrup. Muddled a bit, but NOT into a paste like I had done previously. The leaves stayed intact and where just a little crushed/bruised. I then packed it with ice (from the hotel ice maker), poured in bourbon, then gave it a quick "stir" with the end of a spoon. Garnished with a few sprigs of mint, then served.

I think they turned out well. Maybe they were a bit TOO minty, and possibly a tad sweet. Most people liked them, but some didn't. I suspect those thta didn't just don't like bourbon or like really sweet mixed drinks and cocktails and stuff made with commercial mixes.

The element that I missed the most was the ice. It just wasn't practical for me to try to convert the ice from the ice maker into actual crushed ice. If I had, I think they would have been better. More "proper", for sure. Instead, I got a glass full of very icy bourbon with mint and a bit of sweetness. I say close enough given the situation. We had them in hand as the horses came out of the gate.

[eje]

jsmeeker,

They sound great to me.

I've been experimenting with them myself this year.

It's funny, as up until this year, I'd only had others make them for me. I'd always sort of assumed that infusing the syrup or bourbon was an OK way to go about it. That's what my friends had always done, and they are bourbon fanatics.

In this case, the drink does become about the mint.

When you lightly crush the mint and remove it, and then just have the mint garnish on top, for scent, the drink becomes all about the bourbon.

Now, I feel bad about my advice above!

I'm the first to admit I'm still figuring the julep out, and will confess I have a small preference for things like DeGroff's Whiskey Smash, with a bit of lemon muddled in there, or the tequila thing I made with pineapple and a touch of lime.

But, if anyone wants to have me over for a plain bourbon julep in a silver cup, I'm certainly game. Hmmm... I wonder if being used in a julep would break the wild horse that is the George T. Stagg 2006 bourbon? It was pretty good on fire. How would taste at the other extreme?

Also, haven't quite figured out my ice situation. Since I spent my cocktail equipment allowance this month on a swank new bar-spoon and muddler from Mr. Mojito, instead of sending off to the nice folks at Ultimate Bar Chef, I think I might wash a canvas grocery bags a few times, and then turn it inside out. Seems like it should work as a substitute for a lewis bag.

Edited May 15, 2007 by eje (log)

[eje]

Reading through this topic again from the beginning again last night, let me see if I have properly synthesized the Julep as a generic drink category:

1) The Julep should involve some sort of flavored syrup (julab), preferably made a la minute and not cooked.

2) The alcohol can be anything from Champagne to Bourbon.

3) The ice used should be very fine, almost like snow.

4) It should be mixed vigorously.

5) It should have a pleasantly aromatic and attractive garnish. It's even better if the garnish's flavor ties in to the flavor of the syrup (julab).

6) It should be served in a large-ish receptacle, at least 12 oz. If it is not in a large receptacle, it is a Smash, or, "Julep on a small plan."

7) Since the ice is fine, and the alcohol is not typically chilled before being mixed in, it is nice if the serving receptacle is pre-chilled.

8) The Julep doesn't usually involve citrus, except possibly as a garnish.

Of George's originnal quotes, the one from "The Quadroon" was the most fun for me to re-read.

The Quadroon; or, A lover's adventures in Louisiana, By Mayne Reid, 1856.

"The gentleman now placed side by side two glasses - tumblers of large size. Into one he put, first, a spoonful of crushed white sugar - then a slice of lemon - ditto of orange - next a few sprigs of green mint - after that a handful of broken ice, a gill of water, and, lastly, a large glass measure of cognac. This done, he lifted the glasses one in each hand, and poured the contents from one to the other, so that ice, brandy, lemons, and all, seemed to be constantly suspended in the air, and oscillating between the glasses. The tumblers themselves at no time approached nearer than two feet from each other! This adroitness, peculiar to his craft, and only obtained after long practice, was evidently a source of professional pride. After some half-score of these revolutions the drink was permitted to rest in one glass, and was then set down upon the counter. There yet remained to be given the "finishing touch." A thin slice of pine-apple was cut freshly from the fruit. This held between the finger and thumb was doubled over the edge of the glass, and then passed with an adroit sweep round the circumference. "That's the latest [New] Orleans touch," remarked the barkeeper with a smile, as he completed the manoeuvre. There was a double purpose in this little operation. The pine-apple not only cleared the glass of the grains of sugar and broken leaves of mint, but left its fragrant juice to mingle its aroma with the beverage. "The latest [New] Orleans touch," he repeated; "scientific style."

The chapter of the book starts here, A Scientific Julep (Google Books Link) and contains some amusingly romantic descriptions of both the bar and barkeep.

Edited May 17, 2007 by eje (log)

[slkinsey]

Erik, I'm not positive about #4 above. I think a Julep can be mixed vigorously (cf. Dave's shaking method) but doesn't necessarily have to be. Actually, most recipes don't seem to include vigorous mixing.

I also wonder whether #6 really applies to anyone other than JT. Certainly there are a lot of drinks today called a "Smash" of one kind or another that couldn't in any way be described as "Julep-like."

Edited May 17, 2007 by slkinsey (log)

[eje]

Erik, I'm not positive about #4 above.  I think a Julep can be mixed vigorously (cf. Dave's shaking method) but doesn't necessarily have to be.  Actually, most recipes don't seem to include vigorous mixing.

I also wonder whether #6 really applies to anyone other than JT.  Certainly there are a lot of drinks today called a "Smash" of one kind or another that couldn't in any way be described as "Julep-like."

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re: 4, Didn't really mean a hard, long shake, like you would use for a fizz. I was trying to differentiate between the gentle circular stirring for things like Martini's and Manhattans and the more churning style of stirring of the ingredients in a julep. Perhaps "vigorous" is the wrong word?

Though, I am going to try the exciting pouring between mixing tins method in the very near future!

[slkinsey]

The two-tin pouring sounds like fun, yea.

I'm still not convinced about the vigorous mixing. Even churning with a spoon, while not "disallowed," hardly seems "standard." Most recipes I've seen (and this goes back to at least Jerry Thomas's instructions) don't mention anything beyond perhaps a slight stir. Many/most of them don't seem to say anything about mixing at all (interestingly, JT's instructions for the Georgia Mint Julep "stir with a spoon" whereas his instructions for all the other Juleps as well as those for the Smash do not mention mixing of any kind.

[Splificator]

The two-tin pouring sounds like fun, yea. 

I'm still not convinced about the vigorous mixing.  Even churning with a spoon, while not "disallowed," hardly seems "standard."  Most recipes I've seen (and this goes back to at least Jerry Thomas's instructions) don't mention anything beyond perhaps a slight stir.  Many/most of them don't seem to say anything about mixing at all (interestingly, JT's instructions for the Georgia Mint Julep "stir with a spoon" whereas his instructions for all the other Juleps as well as those for the Smash do not mention mixing of any kind.

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Fortunately Jerry Thomas was not the only nineteenth-century bartender. Most descriptions of bartenders actually making Juleps call for shaking or other vigorous mixing, as in this example from the Brooklyn Eagle in 1884, wherein the bartender has just asked the reporter if he would take something mild in the line of a seltzer lemonade:

The reporter informed the bartender that he never drank—seltzer lemonades, but would try a mint julep strong, if it was all the same. This is how he made it. First a tablespoon of sugar, then a little water, half a dozen sprigs of mint. The mint was pressed with a spoon against the bottom and side of the glass to bring out the essence and then brandy was introduced. Finally shaved ice followed and the shaking commenced. The sprigs of mint were taken out and inserted in the glass, stem downward, and the drink was ornamented with berries, pineapple and orange. A dash of Jamaica rum and a little sprinkling of sugar on top completed the concoction. Two straws were driven to the bottom of the glass and the reporter commenced to blow through them, much to the amusement of the bartender who said they must be sucked. The reporter sucked and the glass was emptied.

Note the recycled mint; personally, I like it better if the mint is removed before shaking and new mint added at the end.

[ThinkingBartender]

I must say that I was always of the opinion that vigorous stirring was required for a Julep. My recent discovery (to myself) of shaking, and rolling, the Julep, while a new idea (to me), were not a surprise.

Cheers!

George

[slkinsey]

Awesome. Thanks for the interesting quote, Dave (and you for yours, George). I wonder why it is that no one seems to churn, roll or shake Juleps anymore, and this practice seems to have largely gone away? Now that I think about it, it makes sense considering that we swizzle Swizzles.

Also, I gather that recycling the mint was relatively commonplace?

Edited May 17, 2007 by slkinsey (log)

[ThinkingBartender]

I wonder why it is that no one seems to churn, roll or shake Juleps anymore, and this practice seems to have largely gone away? 

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I wonder this myself. But there is no harm in bringing it back. As long as you remember the 3oz rule.

[David Santucci]

This is pure speculation, but it seems to me that the preference for stirring over shaking Juleps is aesthetic: It's just a bit more visually interesting when the frost on the outside of the glass goes up to the top of the where the liquid/ice is and stops.

Splificator, why do you prefer to fish out the mint and garnish with a fresh sprig? Is this an aesthetics thing or an aromatics thing?

[Splificator]

This is pure speculation, but it seems to me that the preference for stirring over shaking Juleps is aesthetic: It's just a bit more visually interesting when the frost on the outside of the glass goes up to the top of the where the liquid/ice is and stops.

Splificator, why do you prefer to fish out the mint and garnish with a fresh sprig? Is this an aesthetics thing or an aromatics thing?

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Actually, in my experience a shaken Julep will frost up pretty nicely if you let it sit for a bit--the frosting is a function of the large amount of ice you can pack into a glass if it's made very fine more than of any particular mixing technique.

I prefer to fish out the mint so that I can shake the drink with a certain amount of vigor and not end up with bits of mint floating in it. I could simply reserve it and put it in at the end, but it's kind of bedraggled after pressing and mint is cheap, or free (if the squirrels haven't gotten to it, or whatever it is that keeps snacking on my mint bed).