This is bourbon poured over a mound of crushed ice in a frosted metal cup, sweetened lightly and perfumed with muddled fresh mint, and it drinks bracingly cold from the first sip. As the ice melts it softens the spirit's oak and vanilla warmth into something long and gentle, while the mint sprig on top puts a cool green aroma at your nose before every sip.
Garnish: Mint Sprig
built · Julep Cup · Crushed
muddle
In a julep cup, gently muddle the fresh mint sprigs with the powdered sugar and a small splash of water to release the mint oils without shredding the leaves.
build
Pack the cup with cracked or crushed ice and pour the bourbon over the top.
stir
Stir until the metal cup frosts on the outside, adding more crushed ice to mound it above the rim.
garnish
Garnish with a fresh mint sprig, slapped to express its aroma; serve with a short straw.
No one invented the Mint Julep — it grew out of the eighteenth-century South, where it started out as something closer to medicine. Richmond's Jasper Crouch was hailed as an early master of the drink around 1820, and Kentucky senator Henry Clay carried it to Washington, D.C., though neither is credited with creating it. The first printed recipes leaned on brandy or cognac, Jerry Thomas's 1862 guide allowed gin, whiskey and even Moselle as well, and gin juleps stayed common through the 1800s until bourbon pulled ahead in the 20th century. The drink has long been claimed by Kentucky, and since 1938 it has been bound to the Derby at Churchill Downs.