Mint Juleps

In a pinch, this method of making the syrup will do, but I've found it's much better if you can only bruise the mint leaves (rather than chopping them)--they're much easier to remove from the syrup, and the flavor still infuses well. Also, the mint is a bit better if you can let the syrup rest overnight with the mint in it (covered in the fridge).

Ah yes, it's almost time for the Kentucky Derby again and while I don't have silver goblets I do make sure to chill my glasses, get fresh mint, pick up some good Kentucky bourbon and place my bets every year without fail. The first mint julep I had was actually at the Kentucky Derby and I'll never forget it. This recipe is pretty close but nothing will ever compare to one you actually have at the Derby. I don't chop up all the mint, I leave some for garnish. You can make this syrup ahead of time and store it in the fridge which is nice.

This is so good. The fresh mint really makes it great. Very sweet though.

First a recommendation- I only serve my juleps with Woodford Reserve. I came across it at a bourbon tasting and fell in love, and since then have seen it umpteen times used in varying recipes in Southern Living mag. It's VERY smooth. I have my own style of preparing this. I pack around 1 cup of fresh mint leaves in to a clean glass jar and bruise the leaves by smushing them up against the sides of the jar with a wooden spoon. After the sugar syrup is cooked I pour it in to the jar, smuch some more but not hard enough to create too many bits of leaf debris, close the lid, cool on the counter then chill in the fridge overnight (in a pinch I've given it an ice bath!). When chilled I drain the mixture through cheesecloth, remove the leaves and either pour it back in to the glass jar or in to a condiment style squeeze bottle. I get tremendous reviews making it this way and serving it with the Woodford and even non-bourbon drinkers enjoy it. Lastly- TRY MAKING THIS WITH BASIL instead of mint! I saw a recipe for it in SL and my f=husband and friends practically BEG me for it all year long! I use fresh basil straight from the garden and otherwise make it the exact same way. It's not as sweet and is incredibly refreshing! I've also recently had a Lemongrass julep (same deal, just use lemongrass instead of basil or mint) and a mint-ginger julep. The ginger gave a nice kick.

Decided to start on my Derby celebrations a little early this year, and found this recipe. Lovely! So much easier than mixing each julep by hand. I plan on keeping the mint syrup around - it will be good in iced tea, too.

PERRRRRRRFECT. It's become a favorite among my friends and I and it's quite easy to make. Thanks for the recipe!

I'm not sure if I'm fairly rating this recipe because it may well be fantastic considering what it's supposed to be but....wowsa was this strong!!! No matter how much I tried to dilute it, I kept flashing back to my college days. I just couldn't drink this, nor could my husband who has a WAY WAY higher tolerance than me for alcohol. Too strong!!!!!!!!

This recipe is great, even my grandmother, who doesn't like hard liquor very much, enojyed the mint julep I made for her. I also like experimenting with different types of sugar, such as "Sugar in the Raw", for a varied taste. Another hint I like is to garnish with some powdered sugar. It makes it look lovely, and also gives it some extra sweetness.

These were the rave at our Kentucky Derby Party! I probably added a little more of the simple sugar to each drink... but loved them! Thanks for sharing. YUM!

This is a good recipe, I made the following changes since I was having Juleps for a crowd. After syrup cools, I submerged an entire bunch of mint and let it sit overnight. Then remove the whole bunch and toss it. Put bourbon in a glass pitcher (add a 1/2 or 1 cup more if you like it a little stronger). Then add the minted sugar syrup and still Frig it over night if possible to let flavors melt. Pour this mix over crushed ice, and finish per the recipe. So much easier than portioning out bourbon and syrup. The additional cup of syrup can make another batch for you party, or save for future fun.

I have never tried a Mint Julep previously, but this was delicious!

Maybe because I grew up on the Gulf Coast and not in Kentucky, but I was taught to make it with clear rum. I didn't like the bourbon flavor. If you don't like bourbon try it with rum.

Not so good...but I think I just don't like bourbon, so I don't think I can fault the recipe for that.

I have never had a mint julep before, so I have nothing to compare this recipe to ... I found this drink quite sweet for my taste. I'll have to adjust how much syrup I use next time. Secondly, WOW were these strong. I guess that can be a good thing, depending on what you're looking for. I did bruise the mint leaves in the 2 cups of water before I simmered the water, sugar and mint, as another reviewer suggested. I didn't need a strainer because the mint leaves were large enough to be removed by hand with a fork. Also, I added a few freshly torn mint leaves to each glass, in addition to a mint sprig, for extra "raw mint" flavor. Very refreshing, and pretty too. Thanks!

Loved the suggestion of using simple syrup! Fantastic summer drink!

Yipes! i hate to leave a bad review but I wouldn't recommend it - so thick and wayyyy too strong (and that's after i cut the bourbon by half!. Not for the weak of heart!

This is a good one! Perfect recipe. My wife and I made this tonight and sat on the front porch to enjoy our creation. We used fresh mint leaves from our mint plant (be sure to keep it planted in a pot otherwise it'll take over your garden). It was delicious. Perfect summer night/day/anytime drink! Refreshing and tasty. Oh and we didn't wait the hour for it to cool, we just added more ice. :-)

yum

Love the mint simple syrup - been using it in Iced tea since making it and having it in the refrigerator - give that a try. I think the longer you store the syrup with the mint the better it is. Then mint leaves actually start to taste sweet like mint candy.

Aaaaah! Perfect! I've made this recipe and I've also made Basil Juleps which were a HUGE hit w/ our mint julep crowd. I just substituted fresh basil (1 cup) for mint and followed the recipe. Yum! Perfect to cool off on a hot day down by the "rivah"!

These are too sweet for my taste.

I loved this recipe. So fantastic. Perfect balance of sweet, mint, bourbon. 4 oz is A LOT of bourbon, though, even with filling most of the glass with ice. I will probably halve the serving size next time. Also followed the tip to bruise the mint and it turned out well.

Although I just made the syrup to save for later, it was easy and turned out great! I look forward to the juleps :)

This is great. You can make up the syrup for several drinks and store it in the fridge. I was able to have a mint julep a day for more than a week's time.

It was our first real (aka alcoholic) mint julep, and this definitely is meant for someone with way more alcohol tolerance than me and my husband. We ended up mixing 1 oz. bourbon with 1 oz. syrup over ice, and then we liked it. I'm sure we'll make it again as we have lots of mint growing out back, and summer's just begun!

Judging from the other reviews, this may be a great recipe for mint juleps. I've always wanted to try one, and did with this recipe. Guess I just don't like this, though, as we actually threw out the simple syrup after a few days, realizing no one would try it again. Would be good syrup for a mojito, though, which we love.

Great with Makers Mark!

I did not care for this. I will stick to using my fresh mint in ice tea.

This is an excellent recipe. Plus you can make it for a crowd....wonderful. Be sure to use crushed ice....takes some of the sweetness away. I only made a 1/2 recipe because I didn't want to waste my bourbon if I didn't like it. WELL< I went back and made another full batch. YUMMY!

I had never had a mint julep before. It was good but too sweet for my taste. Even with less syrup, it is still really sweet. I gave it 5 stars because this is a good recipe and if you like sweet drinks, you will love this!

First Class mint juleps!

The 2018 Derby is passed, but I will continue to enjoy Mint Juleps made with Maker's Mark as I sit on the porch watching the Spanish Moss sway in the gentle evening breeze. The recipe is perfect just the way it is.

This is great. You can make up the syrup for several drinks and store it in the fridge. I was able to have a mint julep a day for more than a week's time.

I like to take the syrup and add it to my tea! Makes a nice refreshing southern drink - especially in the evenings when I'm sitting with family chatting about our day!

No better way to celebrate Spring and the Derby than with a great Mint Julep!

Very easy to make, very tasty to drink, and I've made several times!

I doubled the mint for the simple syrup. I left the mint leaves in there a lot longer. It was delicious. However, 4 oz of bourbon was too strong for us. I found 1.5 oz was good. This recipe is a good reference. I think it'd be great topped with a little seltzer.

I live in Kentucky and had out of town guests during Derby and these were a hit! By the way, the minty simple syrup is delicious and would be good in iced tea.

Love this. Keep some in my fridge to add to my tea and delights my friends.

I made the simple syrup "plain" and muddled the mint leaves in each individual drink. That way I have extra simple syrup on hand for other drinks too. Delicious mint juleps.

I tired to use a store boughten syrup, I will make sure next time I make it from scratch. The burbon was a tad strong.

I don't really care for bourbon but I always make one to drink while watching the Kentucky Derby. This is best recipe I've found so far, I used Kentucky Reserves and adjusted the serving to 1 and it was pretty good. Highly recommend

Absolutely great! I make them for my kids so I use lemonade instead of Kentucky bourbon.

I made the fatal flaw of not reading the recipe closely enough and so I strained it before chilling instead of letting the mint leaves soak while it was chilling. So my syrup was not nearly minty enough. But that's my flaw not the recipe's, and I will try it again next year properly! Even with insufficient mintiness, these were delicious (with Lexington KY bourbon).

so much better than the bar version made with mint steeped simple syrup

Loved it!

My daughter had a plethora of very strong mint in her garden so we tried this recipe. It was excellent. Only thing I may do differently next time is “marinate” the mint simple syrup overnight. We loved it with a premium Kentucky bourbon of course!

Sugar water was to sweet

way too sweet

Just like I learned to make in Kentucky, silver goblet and all. I live in Texas now but love a Mint Julep on a hot day.

From a former Louisvillian, JUST FABULOUS!!!!

I made these recently using Woodford Reserve Bourbon and have fallen in love with mint juleps now! These are EXTREMELY sweet and syrupy so be prepared for an interesting flavor and texture sensation. If you can, use fresh mint from the garden. Here is an interesting comparison: homemade hummingbird food is 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. This recipe is 1 part water to 1 part sugar! Hence the extra syrupy consistency.

Awesome and a big hit at my first KY Derby Party. Tried a diff recipe last year and they were kind of gross. I think the key is boiling the mint with the simple syrup and then letting it cool and thicken. Delicious , minty and sweet.

What is the Kentucky Derby without a mint julep? This one didn’t disappoint. I made the mint simple syrup the day before, so it was easy to mix drinks for our guests. I clipped mint from my garden the day before and kept it fresh by keeping in a glass of water on the kitchen counter. Love it!

Love this sweet, refreshing drink for spring/summer! Great recipe!

Followed the recipe for the syrup and mixed to taste. Previously I had muddled the mint leaves like a mojito, I was so wrong. This is THE method. I recommend selecting a bourbon with a long finish to compliment the sweet mint. Enjoy.