![]() Choose a sharp, peppery rye and you’ll have a great counterpoint to the sweet mint and sugar base. Choose a high proof bourbon and you’ll be able to taste the change in the sweetness of the drink as the bourbon dilutes without getting watery. If you love rye and bourbons in your mint julep, your choice of the particular brand and proof of whiskey greatly impacts the final flavor of your julep. Aged rums and tequilas can make a beautiful mint julep, and often have flavor profiles reminiscent of whiskey.īecause different base spirits work best with different herbs and sweet elements, make sure all three are in alignment and smell and taste good together. If I’m using a non-whiskey spirit, I prefer aged spirits. If you want to keep the flavor and alcohol taste present in the cocktail, don’t substitute a low ABV base spirit. Since you’ll be putting the cocktail over crushed ice, dilution will occur. If you enjoy a little more heft to your julep you could use an unaged spirit, or a rum. Try swapping out that whiskey for a sweet brandy or cognac. ![]() How to Swap out the Base Spirit in a Mint Julep Classic Mint Julepĭon’t like whiskey? No problem! The earliest mint juleps were likely made with brandy or rum. With just those three elements to manipulate, we can drive the mint julep to many tasty destinations. Sweet (1/2 oz) – the classic mint julep relies on a sugar cube and water or simple syrup, but you can use other flavored syrups, liqueurs, jams, or sweet muddled fruit.Herb – traditionally mint, but you could choose any kind of herbal aromatic.Early versions of the julep were likely brandy or rum based (see this article on the Classic Mint Julep). Base spirit (2 oz) – this is the bulk of the alcohol in the drink, and traditionally it’s whiskey.Let’s go through the elements we’ll tweak in a riff on the mint julep: It’s as fun for me as playing with the old fashioned. I love playing with the mint julep because you have just a few variables to tweak, but hundreds of possible variations. ![]() Do you have a favorite flavor, like chocolate, or pecan or strawberry you want to highlight? Think about base spirits or herb garnishes that would pair well with those flavors. If you want to create your own mint julep recipe, think about what flavors and what tastes you want to focus on.ĭo you have a favorite herb you’d like to use instead of mint, say lavender? You might decide to pair that with honey syrup or blueberry syrup to create a julep. Like any great classic cocktail, the julep’s simple ratios and elements means it’s easy to manipulate and blend with different flavors to create new combinations. But look a little deeper and there are endless mint julep variations to discover with those few elements. (Post may contain affiliate links.) How to Hack your Mint JulepĪs a cocktail, the mint julep recipe (just whiskey, sugar, mint and ice) presents itself as an easy cocktail to master. Sure you can start with a classic mint julep, or look up mint julep variations online, but wouldn’t you rather create your own? In the spirit of mad scientists/mixologists everywhere, take a minute to get a few tips before heading out to create your own mint julep riff. ![]() Jump to Recipe Print Recipe Cherry Mint Julep
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