Mint Julep Cocktail Recipe
Bourbon and fresh mint over crushed ice — the drink of the Kentucky Derby.
- Category: Contemporary Classics
- Glass: Julep cup
- ABV: 25%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Bourbon60 ml (2 oz)
- Fresh mint leaves10 piece
- Sugar1 tsp
- Cold water10 ml (0.3 oz)
How to Make It
- Gently muddle mint, sugar and water in a julep cup.
- Fill with crushed ice.
- Add bourbon and stir until the cup frosts.
- Top with more crushed ice and a mint bouquet.
Garnish
Generous mint bouquet
What it tastes like
Mint leaves a cooling finish, it drinks cool and easy and the spirit is right out front.
The technique
Muddling. Fruit, herbs or sugar get pressed at the bottom of the glass. With leaves like mint the goal is to press, not to shred: two or three pushes is plenty, more releases chlorophyll and turns the drink grassy and bitter. Sugar and firm fruit, on the other hand, really do get crushed.
Glass and ice
A metal julep cup. Copper or silver frosts on the outside — the cup itself is part of the cold, which is why you hold it by the base or the rim rather than the body.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Bourbon
- American whiskey made from at least 51% corn and aged in new charred oak. The corn gives sweetness, the barrel vanilla; swap in rye and the drink turns noticeably spicier.
- Fresh mint leaves
- The stem is bitter, so use the leaves. One clap between your palms before it goes in releases the oils and gives you the aroma without bruising it.
- Sugar
- Granulated sugar. It dissolves badly in a cold drink, so either muddle it with a few drops of water first or turn it into syrup to begin with.
- Cold water
- Seeing it in a recipe is not a mistake: in spirit-forward drinks, measuring the dilution instead of leaving it to the ice is what makes the result repeatable.
The Story
A Southern US tradition since the 1700s, official drink of the Kentucky Derby.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Mint Julep mixed?
- It is muddled and served in a julep cup.
- How strong is a Mint Julep?
- Roughly 25% ABV as served — a spirit-strength drink — sipped slowly, and it wants a glass of water beside it.
- Can a Mint Julep be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Mint Julep hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.