Saturday, May 3, 2014 - Bookcooker
Until this one, I have never had a mint julep I enjoyed. That doesn't make sense, since I really love bourbon, but I have not had a tasty mint julep. As often happens with cocktails, a bad experience once can sometimes put you off a certain drink or type of liquor forever (or at least for a while). I recall a very bad mint julep my senior year in college, made by a friend from Kentucky (no offense, P!) - a medicine tasting drink that made me shiver a bit after I took a sip. To some extent, that was all it took for me to pretty much swear off juleps for a while. I have partaken a bit in recent years, since bourbon has been so in vogue, juleps turn up on a lot of menus. What I have found is that the crushed ice that is part of the drink is overdone a bit, and so I feel like I am drinking a bourbon snow cone.
A purist will not like this blackberry mint julep, but it is far and away the best julep I have ever had. I really like the technique too - pureeing the fruit and mint together then straining to a syrup. This is something I will play with with other fruit and herb combinations - as summer approaches the possibilities are endless. While I am a late for an derby day party you may have thrown, this drink is a keeper for the spring no matter what the occasion.
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