Now that we're back on Daylight Savings Time and it's light
out til nearly 7 PM, I can't help but fantasize about summer and
sitting out on my wrap-around porch beneath the Magnolia trees, sipping
Mint Juleps and listening to the crickets late into the evening. Of
course, I live in Manhattan not Lousiana, so this truly is a fantasy,
but at least I can have my Mint Julep, albeit while listening to sirens
and traffic from a sofa in my cramped 3rd floor walk-up apartment in
Hell's Kitchen. Nevertheless, here's a great Mint Julep recipe worth
trying:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
- 32 fluid ounces Kentucky bourbon
- 8 sprigs fresh mint leaves for garnish
Directions:
-
Combine water, sugar and chopped mint leaves in a small saucepan. Bring
to a boil over high heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow
syrup to cool, approximately 1 hour. Pour syrup through a strainer to
remove mint leaves
-
Fill eight cups or frozen goblets with crushed ice and pour 4 ounces of
bourbon and 1/4 cup mint syrup in each. (Proportions can be adjusted
depending on each person's sweet tooth). Top each cup with a mint sprig
and a straw. Trim straws to just barely protrude from the top of the
cups. Serve juleps on a silver platter.
[recipe and image via]
