Mint Julep Vintage
5 mint leaves
2 oz Bourbon Whiskey or Cognac
1 ts sugar
1 splash soda
The glass is the Julep Cup
The preparation is very particular because there are several different stages, in fact we have:
• dissolve the sugar in the water turning with the bar spoon;
• press the mint with a muddler;
• half-fill the glass with crushed ice, pour the brandy and turn with a swizzle stick;
• fill the glass to the brim and turn again with the swizzle.
The main ingredient of this drink is mint, leaves of which are pressed gently to avoid breaking them. To get a high quality julep one have to avoid the leakage of the bitter substances contained within the leaves.
At that time the straws did not exist then, not to have problems with crushed ice, the Mint Julep cocktail was served inside the special strainer that then will take the name of Julep Strainer. It served as a filter, so that the ice was left inside the glass, without freezing the teeth to the customer.
Originally it seems that cognac was used, today it is prepared in both ways, but it seems that at the beginning of ‘800 cognac was outclassed by the whiskey due to the spread in Europe of phylloxera, a pest that destroyed large part of theEuropean vineyards. This encouraged the spread of distillates with cereal basic and increasing the price of wine distillates.
