Message 14734 of 22774 in Behind the Bar

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Before people were anal about the Martini, they were anal about the Julep. 
Where do you think the whole "bruising the gin" thing came from? :)

If you know how to make an Old-Fashioned, and you know how to handle mint, 
Mint Juleps are the easiest drink in the world. All a Mint Julep is is an 
Old-Fashioned where you switch out the bitters for spearmint. :) Whether to 
soak the mint or help it along with a muddler, back of a barspoon, etc., 
depends entirely on how much of a hurry you're in. When you bruise the mint it 
speeds up the extraction of the mint oils, but if you overdo it you risk 
extracting the bitter oils as well, same as in a Mojito. That's why people 
used to argue about it so much. 

And you can make Juleps out of things besides mint and bourbon. A Julep is 
just spirit, sugar/simple syrup, and any sort of extractable herb, made in the 
same ratios as an Old-Fashioned. 

Thanks for the well wishes. :)