There are two varieties of mint growing in our front yard, one is spearmint and the other peppermint. I love both, but the peppermint is much better in my opinion for making a Mint Julep or Mojito alcoholic beverage. The spearmint is highlighted in the close-up photo and the peppermint is the larger image displaying the bushy growth near our paved sections. These plants were put into the ground last year and both died back after the frost during the winter but have come back this year with a vengeance. I have also helped them along by picking the tops to help promote a bushy growth structure.
I love picking some of the leaf tops and just chewing on them, really makes your breath fresh too! Besides extracting the oils for all the minty flavored or enhanced medicinal products on the market these days like toothpaste, shampoo and shave cream, fresh mint leaves are also used in teas and can help settle a stomach ache.
Mint Julep
Ingredients
| 6 | Leaves | Fresh peppermint |
| 1 | Tbsp | Sugar |
| ½ | Cup | Crushed ice |
| 3 | Ounces | Bourbon whiskey |
| 1 | Ounce | Soda water |
| 2 | Leaves | Fresh peppermint for garnish |
Procedure Steps
- Muddle the fresh mint leaves with the sugar until well crushed, allow to sit for a few minutes to release the oils into the sugar
- Add the ½ cup of crushed ice and stir well
- Add the bourbon and stir
- Strain the bourbon and ice over a tall up glass filled with crushed ice and add a splash of soda water
- Garnish with more fresh whole mint leaves
5 responses so far ↓
1 BeFoodie // Aug 23, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Ohh I had to re-register to leave a comment, because the password reset tool didn’t work for some reason.
I love the taste of peppermint more,too. Especially as a flavour of green tea. Such heavenly to me. And it gives a wonderful touch to rub peppermint and sugar to make lemonade.
Julep is something I just learnt here. Sounds refreshing. Any other kinds of Julep?
Cheers!
Banu
2 Ryan Boudreaux // Aug 25, 2008 at 9:57 am
Interesting thought Banu! So I went hunting on Goggle for Julep and found an article from the New York Times entitled “Juleps That Go Beyond Mint”, here is the URL:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/dining/30julep.html
Here is a tid bit from the article:
“At Bar Q in Greenwich Village, the manager, Jorge Salamea, substitutes shiso, the slightly spicy Japanese herb, for mint in his shiso julep…”
3 Ryan Boudreaux // Aug 25, 2008 at 10:01 am
Oh…Banu! I sent you an email with an updated and new password for your login ID! Sorry about the password reset issue, not sure why that is not working.
Regards,
Ryan
4 BeFoodie // Aug 29, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Hiya Ryan!
Sorry for the late check… And many thanks for the link and password help both!
Cheers!
5 BeFoodie // Aug 29, 2008 at 5:08 pm
I read the article now. simply love the idea of “bourbon infused with orange-spice tea and mint”, and some with peach mmmm yummy.
That was inspiring thx!