Place Your Bets on This Mint Julep Recipe (2024)

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Place your bets and dig out your fanciest hats, because it’s Kentucky Derby season, and that means this Mint Julep Recipe should be on the menu. This classic co*cktail is sweet, refreshing, and perfectly festive for the season.

On the first Saturday in May, this legendary bourbon co*cktail is one of the mainstays in Louisville, Kentucky: bourbon, mint, and a bit of sugar come together to make a something strong and sweet with a totally refreshing flavor, just for Derby Day.

A classic Mint Julep recipe is just what you need while at the races and Derby parties, or at the very least, after a long day of digging all that wild mint out of your garden. Either way, a sip of this sublime drink, with it’s minty aroma, is a sure bet on warm spring days.

Recipe ingredients

Ingredient notes

• Sugar: 2 teaspoons simple syrup can be substituted for the 1 teaspoon sugar + 1 teaspoon water. To make your own simple syrup, 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water together over medium-low heat in a small saucepan (do not boil). Stir until the sugar dissolves.
• Mint: Mint Juleps are typically made with spearmint, not peppermint.
• Bourbon: There are lots of opinions on the best bourbon for a Mint Julep, but Woodford Reserve seems to be a crowd favorite (and it’s the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby). Look for a bourbon that is at least 90 proof if possible.

Step-by-step instructions

1. In a silver julep cup or tall glass, combine sugar and water and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add fresh mint leaves and muddle in the bottom of the glass (do not strain).

2. Fill half the glass with ice. Pour in 2 oz bourbon and stir to combine. Top with more ice and stir until the glass is frosty.

3. Garnish a straw, a sprig of mint (the leaves still on the stems), and more crushed ice.

Recipe tips and variations

• Yield: This recipe makes one frosty Mint Julep co*cktail.
• Glassware: Mint juleps are often served in silver or pewter cups with beads along the rim so they are nice and frosty. If you’re lucky enough to have some, try holding the co*cktail only by the bottom and top edges of the cup, so the frost covers the outside of the cup. And chill the cups before making your drinks if possible.
• Big batch: Mint Juleps are best muddled one drink at a time, when you need them.
• No muddler:If you don’t have a co*cktail muddler, use the handle of wooden spoon to muddle your Mint Julep ingredients, or just shake everything together in a co*cktail shaker (you can read all aboutmy favorite co*cktail shakers, too).
• Mojito: More Cuba than Kentucky, a classic Mojito co*cktail is also generous with mint but made with rum instead of bourbon. Or try our non-alcoholic Mojito Mocktail.
• Manhattan: Not into mint? Try a Manhattan co*cktail, another classic bourbon drink that has sweet vermouth and old-fashioned bitters.