Mint & More!
Springtime might be our favorite season in Kentucky. Rolling fields, front lawns, leafing trees and garden foliage are saturated with every shade of green, from palest chartreuse to deep viridian.
Somewhere in the middle of all that greenness is mint and our gardens at Holly Hill Inn are full of it right now. This native Kentucky herb is one of only four ingredients in a classic mint julep so it’s important to choose it wisely and treat it well, which means roughing it up a bit for maximum flavor.
Crushed or shaved ice is the second essential ingredient and there are several ways to procure it, including from a well-known fast-food franchise. But if you’d like to try your hand at creating your own, we have a couple of suggestions.
Described by Lexington poet Soule Smith as “the zenith of man’s pleasure”, mint juleps are legendary in the Bluegrass. We don’t wax quite so poetically but there’s no question it’s worth learning how to make one well. A mint julep is refreshing perfection on a warm sunny day and once you’ve tasted one made with care, you’ll begin to understand the fuss.
We’ll leave the choice of bourbon and glassware to you but here are a few tips for peak mint julep enjoyment.
— Pick a mint. There are many varieties to choose from, and we grow a lot of them in our Holly Hill Inn gardens, but our favorite is a wild transplant from David Wagoner’s Three Springs Farm. If you don’t have a patch of your own, pick some up at your local grocery or greenhouse. Kentucky Colonel mint is an easy-to-find one that was specially developed for mint juleps.
— Crushed or shaved ice. It’s important to get your hands on some finely crushed or shaved ice to get that nice frosted coating on whatever you decide to serve your julep in.
— If you’re a thrifter, look for an antique ice scraper or shaver. We paid a few dollars for a fearsome-looking cast aluminum one, and got to use it when Matthew Stoddart of Lexington Ice Sculptures gifted us a block of ice. We were soon taking turns making miniature ice storms.
— We’re also huge fans of canvas Lewis bags and wooden mallets, and it’s so, so satisfying to whack away at a bag or two of ice cubes. It goes surprisingly fast and you’ll have enough to fill an ice bucket in no time.
— Back to the mint and making a julep: have your glass, mint, ice and bourbon ready to go, along with whatever sweetening agent you prefer. We recently decided our favorite is a combination of powdered sugar and mint simple syrup.
— Pinch off a good-sized sprig of mint, about three inches long, and smack it (hard!) to bring the volatile compounds to the surface. Rub the mint around the inside of the glass and then add your sweetener and muddle gently.
— Add your bourbon of choice and stir for a moment or two.
— Now it gets serious. Fill the glass with your beautifully pulverized ice and pack it down. In John Dabney’s recipe, the famous julepmaker advises us to fill the glass completely and then “add more on top, mounding into a pyramid of ice rising above the glass.”
— Select another perfect sprig of mint and clap it between your palms before carefully placing it stem down into the pyramid of ice.
— Admire your handiwork and remember Soule Smith’s words, “Sip it and dream — you cannot dream amiss. Sip it and dream, it is a dream itself. No other land can give so sweet a solace…no other liquor soothes you so. Sip it and say there is no solace for the soul, no tonic for the body like Old Bourbon whiskey.”
Related Content
Inspiration for Your Spring Table
It’s (finally!) springtime in Kentucky. What will you celebrate? A Derby party for friends and family, a Mother’s Day or graduation dinner? Here’s how the flavors of springtime in Kentucky inspire Chef Ouita Michel. “Kentucky in spring is for us, the beginning of our culinary year.
© 2024, Holly Hill Inn/Ilex Summit, LLC and its affiliates, All Rights Reserved
