Why Are We Crushing Mint Juleps The Morning Of The Kentucky Derby?

Ever wonder why we crush mint juleps all day before the greatest two minutes of the year? Me too. So, I did some digging. Seems like hundreds of years ago there was a drink called the julab that was whipped up in the Arab world made of water and rose petals. It was purportedly an instant improvement to quality of life due to its clean and refreshing scent. Native mint eventually replaced rose petals in the Mediterranean and a drink was born.

The internet says the julab further evolved over the years and by the time it gained notoriety in the U.S., sometime around the early 1800’s, it was a sweetened tonic used for medicinal purposes, but the mint leaves remained. How anyone can trust the history of a drink hundreds of years old is beyond me, but this is what I pieced together from multiple source – some sober, some not as much.

 
 I’ve heard tell that the sweetened tonic was fortified with booze and typically consumed in the morning by people working on horse farms or the riders themselves, as method of relieving the aches and pains associated with that life. Kentucky is home to Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby as well as American bourbon – 95% of the world’s bourbon comes from her barrels. It's no wonder bourbon would find its way into the julep displacing the rye whiskey common in variations just north in Virginia.

Like lots of classic cocktails there are many variations and preferences but my particular affinity for the classics has me following Henry Clay’s recipe, one they still use in some old school hotel bars.

Make it any way you want but for the love of God, use a good bourbon. Garbage in will be garbage out.

Here is the old school Henry Clay recipe:

· 2 oz Kentucky Bourbon (some high-end shit)

· 8-10 mint leaves

· 1 teaspoon sugar

· Lemon twist

· Soda water

· Crushed Ice (not snow cone crushed, just before that)

Muddle the sugar, mint and 1 ounce of bourbon. The muddle is where you will either look like an international man of leisure or an idiot. Fill highball glass halfway (if you’re fancy use a silver or pewter cup) with ice and stir, add the remaining bourbon, then ice, then soda water. Garnish with lemon twist. Some people will add a dust of sugar to finish her off. I don’t.

Don’t wait until Saturday to start figuring this thing out. I’m giving you 48 hours for R&D so come Derby time you can effortlessly and elegantly whip these up for your friends.

Now grab your hat and man the bar.