My arms are sore, I feel as though I’m walking around in a bowl full of Jell-O...maybe I shouldn’t have conducted this month’s cocktail experiment on a work night. I am proud of my condition though, as through many trials and errors, we arrived at a significant conclusion: How to make the perfect Mint Julep at home.
Earlier that afternoon I made a few phone calls and rounded up friends to make this cocktail. It was important that there was a diverse group to test and give input on how we were creating our Mint Juleps. My goal was to appeal to every drinker, even someone who doesn’t like bourbon (gasp).
Now personally I have never made a Mint Julep, but I knew they were simple to make since I needed only four ingredients: bourbon, sugar, mint, ice. I say to myself “this should be a snap” as I hunt down mint in Publix while dodging shopping carts, gaggles of heathen children, and apathetic parents. Mint in hand, I head over to the ABC store to pick out a good middle of the road bourbon. I chose Buffalo Trace, a new spirit in our ever-expanding liquor selection here in Alabama. It’s good stuff, comparable to Maker’s but cheaper. I also picked up something special to kick my julep up a notch. I reached for the Grand Marnier but saw the price tag and trembled. A quick Google search sent me to Citronge, a product made by Patron. Picking up the Citronge ended up a great choice, and at $12 there room for regret.
Evening arrives and it was time to finally get started, all the key participants were ready and the cocktail making ensued. The only aspect of all this I was worried about was the ice. Tradition calls for using shaved ice, and from what I have researched and heard from other bartenders it is a total pain to make. I was determined to find a solution other than going to Sonic and picking up a few pounds of ice. That solution just called for using a cocktail shaker and literally shaking the ice to bits. I didn’t realize how sore I would be the next morning after shaking up about two dozen of these, but it was well worth the kind of ice it produced.
After tackling the ice situation I pressed on to mix the cocktail itself. I started with just a splash of home-made simple syrup in a tumbler, tossed in a few sprigs of mint and hit them a few times with the muddler. I was sure not to break the leaves into pieces, last thing I wanted was a bunch of cocktailers walking around with mint particles in their teeth. I poured in the bourbon and gave the mixture a good swirl, then poured it over the ice, settling perfectly in the cup, mint on top and everything.
This Mint Julep was good, the standard textbook definition of what it should be. A great drink for a bourbon enthusiast, but to my surprise there are people out there that aren’t fans. This is where the Patron Citronge comes in. I cut the amount of sugar I used by half, replacing it with the Citronge. This adds a subtle new layer that softens the bite of the bourbon. We passed this deviation around the room, and it was a hit with everyone. Soon enough everyone had their cups refreshed with this version, we became more and more convinced that we had something big on our hands. So this May while you’re reminiscing about our mild winter, go find a good front porch and try out one of these. Just make sure you don’t have work the following morning.
You’ll Need:
• A cocktail shaker/pint glass/cup
• Simple syrup (1c boiling water, 1c sugar. Mix & cool.)
• Your choice bourbon - lots
• Patron Citronge
• Mint
• Ice
The Mix:
1. Shake your ice, crush it, turn it into small fragments somehow and put it in your cocktail glass.
2. Add .5oz of simple syrup, .5oz Citronge, and 1-2 mint sprigs all in your cocktail shaker/mixing glass and hit the mint with a muddler/spoon/object.
3. Add a good 2oz of bourbon and swirl it around.
4. Pour over your ice and enjoy.