Our next adventure came sooner than you might have thought. We decided to break up the drive back from The Greenbrier with a stay at The Inn At Little Washington.
If The Greenbrier was the milkshake of the babymoon, the Inn at Little Washington was the cherry. That metaphor might work for the aspect of time, but how can one sum up such an amazing and complex experience in one small aspect of a metaphor? After a beautiful drive though the country, we checked in. We were given an amazing suite.
There were many nice touches, and even a personalized note from the chef. After being thoroughly wowed, we dressed for tea.
Under normal circumstances, “best tea ever” might sound absurd, but we had just come from The Greenbrier.
After tea, we had a private tour of the inn and grounds. Chris was very informative and passionate. You could tell he loved the inn, and enjoyed telling its story. Not only did Chris give a good tour, he made sure we were having an amazing time throughout our stay.
After the tour (if you go, definitely enjoy the tour), we dressed for dinner. Before we were seated, I was given a boutonniere. After looking around the restaurant, I figured out that the boutonnieres are a subtle and classy way of making guests of the inn easily identifiable.
I won’t go into detail about the courses, but needless to say, dinner was superlative, and easily the best meal I have ever had. The marriage of hot and cold foie gras with sauternes gelee and spiced local peaches paired with a glass of Sauternes may have been my favorite, but the veal sweetbreads and lamb were also exquisite.
Best. Meal. Ever. For dessert, I ordered a glass of Madeira, but since they were out, they offered me a glass of Graham’s 40 year tawny port. It was incredible, and I even made it last until we had a cigar on our balcony. This might have been at least partially due to our exceptional sommelier, Jess, who’s hand was as heavy as his descriptions were vivid and enticing. When we were finished with our dessert, Chris offered to give us a tour of the kitchen. As you’ll see below, we were able to meet Chef O’Connell! He was very gracious and very funny.
After I’d finished my port, and my Trinidad Robusto T, it was time for bed. I’ve never had all my senses so overwhelmed. Its really impossible to put the experience into words. Fortunately, the experience had not yet come to an end. Breakfast was shockingly good the next morning. The wife had a parfait, and I had eggs benedict. Each of the four juices we were able to sample were amazing.
When we finished eating, we took a walk around the grounds. Its crazy how lucky we got with the weather all week. We also seemed to be right on time all week. At The Greenbrier, we were on time for tea, meal, etc., and at The Inn, we arrived just before tea, then were right on time for the tour, which concluded in time for us to get dressed and make our reservation. When we got to the garden, Jenna (The Inn’s farmer in residence), gave us a wonderful impromptu tour. Again, perfect timing.
Below, you can see our balcony, which was right above the kitchen.
The Inn had really lived up to its expectations. I can’t wait for our next milestone, so we can come back.
by rsiv withMy wife’s company provides a stipend for employees to enjoy a babymoon (like a honeymoon but for expectant parents). Friday morning, we put the top down and headed to West by God Virginia. It was a beautiful sunny ride down, and since the drive was about 4 hours, I almost got too much color. We chose The Greenbrier because we hadn’t been in seven years, and its America’s great resort. Its absolutely beautiful, luxurious, delicious, comforting, and full of adventure (as you’ll see below). It really is a special place.
We enjoyed the decor, got settled, and then hit the pool for a late lunch and some mountain sunshine.
For dinner, we went to Draper’s. I went with some amazing chicken and waffles and the wife had a pot pie. Everything, including the service, was excellent.
This was our first trip to The Greenbrier since they added the casino. I was a little skeptical when I heard about the addition, but it was well done and enjoyable. After my first proper julep (though The Greenbrier insists on serving their julep with a full length plastic straw – they could at least cut it to proper length), we saddled up to the craps table. We just about doubled our money and decided to celebrate with some Blanton’s and a cigar.
We’d only been at The Greenbrier for ten hours, but we’d already had a great time. We couldn’t wait for more pool time, falconry, fly fishing, food, and more fun.
Day two started with Southern Eggs Benedict with fried green tomatoes and Virginia ham.
My wife and I have talked about trying out the sport of kings for a while. Since my wife can’t shoot, ride horses, etc., due to her pregnancy, we finally had a great reason to check it out.
The scale that the hawk is perched on was one of the most interesting parts of the demonstration. Only hungry birds will hunt, so their weight has to be monitored. We also found out that a Harris’ Hawk can be trained in only about 8 weeks.
Falconry consists of the handler walking around, trying to scare up prey, while the hawk perches above and watches. Hunting with larger birds can involved separate handlers and flushers.
When the hawk makes a kill, it shields its spoils and is very possessive. Its important for the handler to quickly offer meat to the hawk in order to get possession of the kill.
We had a great time and learned a lot about falconry. My favorite was the owl. Apparently, an owl could help me with my feral cat problem at home… The falcon definitely looked the coolest. After Falconry, we relaxed at the pool until tea time. This flowah was wiltin’, so I opted for iced tea.
After tea, we changed for dinner. It was great that The Greenbrier provided a garment brush since my shoes picked up a bunch of fuzz on the trip down. This was the night of our dinner in the main dining room, so we put on our best, took some pictures, and enjoyed some libations.
I’m surprised my wife didn’t get a dress code reminder card for wearing camo:
At dinner, I opted for a julep rather than a glass of fine. Then I ordered some lamb, which unbeknownst to me, came with mint jelly. It actually paired pretty well. The live jazz was also an unexpected but welcome accompaniment.
After dinner, we lost the previous night’s winnings and then some in record time at the craps table. With the table cold and it still early, we grabbed our kindles, poured some blanton’s, and picked out a cigar. The porch below provided an excellent location to enjoy the evening. It had cooled off, and was beautiful out.
The fountain below used to be outside of a restaurant at The Greenbrier that no longer exists. My family did a 12 course tasting menu with wine pairings there once. It was the first time my future wife and mother got tipsy around each other. It reminded us of that great time we had and we were glad its still there.
Day Three started with a Dorothy Draper omelet (Virginia ham, green peppers, shiitake, American cheese). We had a leisurely morning in the hotel, and then went down to the outfitters’ for our excursion.
Another activity we’d been wanting to try, and that pregnant women can do is fly fishing. Our instructor, Demian, taught us the basics of roll casting, and then quickly got us on a picturesque stream. It was a little colder than usual, rain was coming in, and it was overcast. It wasn’t the best season for fly fishing, but the conditions weren’t bad at all. It couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes before I landed a fish. I was able to keep good tension on the barbless hook by stripping the line, and after a short fight, I netted my first fish on the fly ever. Just a short while after that, my wife hooked up. Demian was over with me still, and after setting the hook, she yelled, “Fish on!!!” Demian laughed, and hustled over to give her a hand. A few hours later, we’d caught 14 fish between us. I credit Demian’s teaching abilities and skill at his passion. HB initially struggled with keeping the rod bent and tension on the line, but he was able to show her how to successfully bring in a fish (and she landed plenty). He was quick to switch out flys that were not hitting, and deftly handled any snags we caused while figuring out the cast. We really can’t thank Demian enough (though the last thing I need is another expensive hobby).
I have a friend that offered to teach me fly fishing if I taught him sporting clays. Now that I know the basics and have landed a fish, I might have to take him up on his offer. The weather had held out, so we changed for dinner and went out to our sitting spot. I’d finished the book I brought, The Paris Wife, and decided to start on A Moveable Feast (to get both sides of the story).
I thought the picture above was an interesting juxtaposition of old and new. Not unlike The Greenbrier itself.
We’d had such a pleasant dinner at Draper’s we almost went back. Instead, we decided to give Cafe Carleton a try. My wife did the prix fixe option, and I order a charcuterie plate. Both were very good, as was the wine flight: No one expects the Spanish Libation. The food was spectacular, and our waitress, Jennifer W was a lot of fun and made great recommendations. After a decadent meal we played the rest of our comp’d slots and then played a few hands of roulette. Nothing hit, but I optimistically reflected that I’d rather be lucky on the trout stream than in the casino.
We ending the night by participating in an old Greenbrier tradition. I won’t explain it, as the text in the picture below should do so better than I could.
We decided not to mess with success, and went back to Draper’s for our last breakfast at The Greenbrier. I had the Springtime omelet: jumbo lump crab, asparagus, and brie. Our waitress on our last day was not rude, but was not particularly chipper either. Everyone has off days. However, our first waiter, Adrienne came over to greet us. He has noticed that we’d been there three days in a row. He was very friendly, and at least on that day, was a beacon of cheerfulness in a sea of frowns. Adrienne truly improved the quality of our stay.
Later that morning, my wife went to the spa for a prenatal massage and I took my kindle and coffee down to the pool. An elderly lady (lets say at least 75) was swimming lap after lap, and inspired me to swim a few. I got a little winded, but lets blame that on all the booze the night before.
After a short walk, we packed up and checked out. At reception I heard a gentleman say that he had been since the 4th of July and was staying until Labor Day. I was more than a little jealous. HB and I took one last look, and headed off to our next adventure. I don’t know how soon, but I know the three of us will be back.
by rsiv withOn Friday, I went to Mediterrafish in Merrifield. I was nearby doing some physical therapy nearby, and I’d wanted to stop by for a long time after seeing their selections in the window. I went with monkfish, and salmon for the pregnant. I seasoned the monkfish with olive oil, herbs de provence, and rosemary. I put some jerk seasoning and butter on the salmon, and put them on some cedar planks.
Saturday morning we went back to Paladar for brunch. I got the tacos, which were awesome.
Later that day, we sold the wife’s car. Her VW Golf gave us 10 great years of service. She was very sad to see it go.
Then we took the back way out to my buddy CW’s. He has a week old newborn, so we went to visit. We drove through the battlefield, and up the blue highways.
CW had some burgers from a fancy butcher that he grilled up. They were delicious. The farmers’ market corn was also great. We got into his Yuengling Premium reserve, which means its just about time for a trip to WV to restock.
Sunday morning it was amazing outside; we went to brunch at Mad Fox. I got the pork belly benedict, and added fried green tomatoes. I paired it with their English style brown ale (on cask).
Then we did some dogsitting. My sister’s boyfriend just rescued a german wirehaired pointer. My hopes that he could one day hunt were buoyed by the fact that he did some fetching, treed a squirrel, bent his leg to point a little, and started to learn to come when called. However, when treats are involved, even Lord Snackington will come when called. If nothing else, Otto got some more calories out of the training, and I burned a few.
After driving back from my CW’s place, I realized there was a screw in my tire. I went to MB to get it fixed. The car I was driving was my Mom’s company car, so I sent her the picture of the SL below, and told her that her SLK was totalled, and I’d be bringing an SL home for her. She said the white looked nice, but she’d prefer to stick with red.
Later that night, we kicked off DC restaurant week at Chef Geoff’s in Tysons. For value and convenience (its close to us), it can’t be beat. Especially on half priced wine night (Mondays). I was skeptical that the key lime pie would pair with the mango, but it was surprisingly good.
Wednesday, I ran over to my parents house on a beautiful day. Really enjoyed the city on the walk back.
If y’all aren’t following me on Twitter yet, hit me up: @BonVivantVA . I just started the account, but I’ve already been retweeted/favorited by JackRoseDC, Quail4ever, National Bohemian, The Greenbrier, Nauti Foods, an author, and food writer, and more.
by rsiv withOn friday we went to Gypsy Soul in Merrifield. I had a coco loco, we started with chicken skin cracklins with snake oil and roof top honey, and then I ordered the chicken fried bobwhite quail with gizzard gravy. Simply amazing.
Thursday, karma tried to get me drunk at Cyclone Anaya’s, via drinks on the house.
Earlier in the week, I enjoyed some brown and some waspy pipe tobacco.
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The new issue of Garden and Gun has a article about southern breakfast joints. The pic below is on the cover. I found it inspiring, and fixed me up some ham steak.
My buddy CW’s wife gave birth to their daughter on Tuesday morning. The night before, I brought him some McDonalds and hung out for a few hours. The #15 and apples pies were appreciated.
On Tuesday, HB and I went to Maneki Neko for lunch. I had a redskins roll, and the wife got a bento box.
On Wednesday, Le Petite, RP, HB, and I went to the Tune Inn, and then DC United v. Toronto FC.
Since Ryry is a regular and everybody knows his name, I went with his order: bourbon soda, and a tune inn burger.
There was a pretty big crowd there a few minutes before kickoff. HB was knocking people out of her way to get down to the field to see Michael Bradley, and we tried to keep up.
We noticed on instagram that a few of our fraternity brothers were also there. Then came over during the half to chill.
DC United got the W, Ryry saw his first soccer game, and a good time was had by all. Congrats again to Lil Steve on passing his big test and getting a new job. We look forward to the crab pickin’.
by rsiv withAfter a few painkillers last night, HB and I headed to Paladar in Tysons for some brunch. I started with some pelo del perro. The dark and stormy settled the rough seas in my tumtum.
I had the chorizo and cheese pupusas with fried eggs, and HB had the sweet potato pancakes with fruit ceviche. Both were pretty outstanding. I’ve also been for dinner, and can’t recommend Paladar enough.
by rsiv withOn Friday, HB and I went to the Eden Center with Ryry and Jodi. We had squid two ways and plenty of 33. Good food and good company. On Saturday, the Beeze and I went to Annapolis in the drop top.
We went to a liquor store on main street and scored lots of good stuff. Some dusty brown, a Talisker I’ve never tried, and some Pilar (Hemingway) rum.
At City Dock Coffee, I had a Jamaican iced tea, which was amazing. I hope to recreate it. It tasted like black tea, pineapple juice, all spice, and nutmeg.
A fellow Virginian representing on enemy soil. Then it was time for Pusser’s. I had a couple painkiller (#4s) while we waited for an outdoor table. After being seated, we enjoyed the sunset, and another painkiller.
Below is the ship from Wedding Crashers pulling out of Ego Alley.
by rsiv withI invited some friends over to my parents place for the USA v. Portugal match. I bought the fixins for some drinks, and some kebabs, and tivo’d the matches just to be safe.
We decided to start with a glass of Madiera, light up a cigar, and retire to the hot tub.
It was a beautiful day, and not overly hot. I grabbed a grilling beer from the World Cooler, and got the grill hot.
The food turned out great. Then it was time to watch the game. I fixed up some white port and tonic, cut a few lemons, and we turned on the projector. It was an awesome game, and despite the group’s small size, but perhaps because of the group’s predilection for booze, it was a very enthusiastic viewing. We all went pretty bananas for the US goals.
by rsiv withI’ve been busy enjoying the weather, and the lead up to the World Cup. The other day, my boy RyRy told me about instacart, and how they just teamed up with Magruders (Magrubers for Ry). I can now get home delivery of booze from the best liquor store in DC, which is a game changer (and very dangerous for my wallet and health). I gave it a try the day I found out about it, and was sipping the best gin and tonic I’ve ever had just a few short hours later.
We watched my home video footage of Cuba the other night, and enjoyed some Cuban-ish sandwiches, mojitos, and cuba libres.
I also had steak, stogie, and sauce night over at RyRy’s. For the uninitiated (which is everyone who is not in my inner circle as we invented it), S^3 is when you get the guys (and sometimes gals) together to grill out and enjoy life. Ryan hosted, and made some killer pork chops. I fashioned some extra julep straws, and brought the julep fixings. The mason jar has some mixed berry moonshine. Now call up your buds and have your own S^3.
We also went to another Nats game. Go Nats!
by rsiv withI’ve long been a bourbon guy. I’ve also been a mint julep guy for quite some time. I can’t remember what exactly got me into either, but I can remember the first really good mint julep I ever had. I went to The Greenbrier many years ago and ordered a julep at the Lobby Bar. Despite The Greenbrier’s website showing a julep in a clear glass with citrus on its site and a plastic straw on another page, I recall getting a beautiful julep in a proper beaker. It was perfect or damn near anyway. There are so many reasons that its hard to get a good julep at a restaurant/bar, but I think the major obstacle is that establishments do not want to serve such a strong drink. The julep is from another time when people really drank and enjoyed the taste of hard liquor. Nowadays, most people seem to prefer that a drink have no taste of alcohol whatsoever and bars want to serve one ounce or 1.5 ounces of liquor per cocktail. I imagine its also costly to keep fresh mint on hand and employ bartenders that can craft a quality drink (as opposed to those that can only add vodka to redbull). If I’m at a bar thats not known for good cocktails, for say, a work happy hour, odds are I’ll order a bourbon or scotch neat. Not because I don’t want a cocktail, but because I doubt the bartenders’ ability to make a good one in a reasonable amount of time. Fortunately for me I live near Washington DC where there are plenty of excellent bartenders, and even bars with julep history. Here is the problem: If you want someone’s interpretation of a classic, by all means, enjoy a julep at any upscale bar. DC has plenty. If you find yourself north of the Mason-Dixon, Nick Nicholls (formerly of Berlin, MD) at Forest Hills Station House can serve you their interpretation from the menu, or a historically authentic julep made to order. So if you truly want the real deal you’ll probably have to make it for yourself (or have it made to your exact specifications).
So at this point, I imagine you’re wondering, “What is the correct/authentic mint julep recipe?” The answer is that it depends on the timeframe and your preferences. To truly understand the julep, and to become a champion of the julep, one must read, The Mint Julep by Richard Barksdale Harwell. In the aforementioned work, it is stated that one of the first recorded uses of the word julep in America was in 1787. It was said to contain rum, water, and sugar, and was drunk by a Virginian, in the morning. Recall that rum was quite popular in the Colonies at that time, and that whiskey did not become the most popular American spirit until quite a while later. In 1803, the julep was first described as having mint as an ingredient and this time, the spirit used was whiskey. Again, the context is a plantation in northern Virginia, and the julep is taken in the morning.
In the The Bon Vivant’s Companion (Jerry Thomas, 1862, source again is The Mint Julep by Harwell) a recipe for the Mint Julep is given, using Cognac, and a splash of Jamaica rum. Other recipes with various base spirits are given, but Cognac and Jamaica rum is given as the standard. Notice the published date (more on that later).
Elijah Craig is credited with first aging whiskey in charred barrels. This is said to have happened at his distillery, built 1789, and before his death, in 1808. By 1793, “Old Whiskey” was a term used in advertisements, and by 1814, the actual number of years the whiskey had been aged was advertised. That said, straight off the still ‘white dog’ whiskey is what predominated (Bourbon, Straight. Cowdery). Even though charred barrel aging was starting to be used, the modern practice of using brand new charred oak barrels once (and only once), would not become a standard practice until much later. 1849 is the first time whiskey is described as being red in color (Bourbon, Straight. Cowdery). At this time, whiskey was very very rarely sold in bottles. Distillers sold white whiskey to wholesalers, who then might, “rectify” it, by charcoal filtering, adding fruit, redistilling it, or some other process to improve the flavor. There were no laws about labeling, so if you could make whiskey look dark, and you could sell it as aged whiskey (Bourbon, Straight. Cowdery). After the bottled in bond act of 1897, and the invention of a bottle making machine in 1903, bottled whiskey, and guaranteed aged whiskey, would become more common. Once can experiment with unaged whiskey in a julep, but I’d wager you’re unlikely to love the result.
So now that you know a little more about the spirits that are often used as the base for the julep, lets talk about when/why one should use each.
If you want a colonial/antebellum mint julep, one that a Virginia statesman such as many of our founding father’s would have enjoyed, I suggest Madeira, Cognac, brandy, or rum. It would also be authentic to use claret (red Bordeaux) or unaged whiskey, but again, I don’t think you’ll enjoy a white dog julep, and a claret julep does not have the strength of the other options. Madeira was the preference of many of the more wealthy planters, but at around 20% alcohol or 40 proof, it is not quite as strong as a hard liquor. My suggestion is to use Cognac or brandy, but feel free to substitute any of the above options in my recipe below. I also like to add some rum for a little something extra.
Colonial / Antebellum Mint Julep
Add roughly 10 mint leaves (preferably Kentucky Colonel) to a metal beaker (Julep cup) and bruise lightly to bring out their aroma. Fill beaker with crushed ice. Add sorghum syrup (or equal parts sugar and water, heated to create a syrup) to taste. I suggest roughly a quarter ounce of syrup. Add Cognac to the beaker until almost full. Add a dash of rum to the beaker, preferably Jamaica rum. Mix with a spoon. Top with more crushed ice. Garish with a sprig of fresh mint, and serve with a metal straw that just crests the rim of the beaker.
Despite the knowledge I’ve tried to impart, I can imagine that many of you cannot accept a Mint Julep without whiskey. Fortunately, my next two recipes do include whiskey. Recall that white whiskey was a drink of the common man. In the The Mint Julep by Harwell, there is an account of a wealthy Virginia planter drinking a Mint Julep made of whiskey, but this was during the Civil War when good liquor may have been hard to come by. In the reconstruction era, many southern families fell on hard times. It is likely they drank white whiskey in their Juleps. I do not suggest that you do the same (at least not regularly), but I will provide the following recipe:
The Reconstruction Era Mint Julep.
Add roughly 10 mint leaves (preferably Kentucky Colonel) to a metal beaker (assuming the Yankees didn’t loot your family silver, and you haven’t had to sell your valuables to a carpet bagger) and bruise lightly to bring out their aroma. Fill beaker with crushed ice. Add sorghum syrup (or equal parts sugar and water, heated to create a syrup) to taste. I suggest roughly a quarter ounce of syrup. Add white whiskey to the beaker until almost full. Mix with a spoon. Top with more crushed ice. Garish with a sprig of fresh mint, and serve with a metal straw that just crests the rim of the beaker.
In the early 1900s, brown liquor was starting to become more common. Unfortunately, prohibition would change that. Moonshine was plentiful and white whiskey remained the king. So to enjoy a modern mint julep, one must wait until post-prohibition when the medicinal bourbon distilleries got back to capacity, and new distilleries opened to meet demand.
The Modern / Post-Prohibition Mint Julep
Add roughly 10 mint leaves (preferably Kentucky Colonel) to a metal beaker and bruise lightly to bring out their aroma. Fill beaker with crushed ice. Add simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, heated to create a syrup) to taste. I suggest roughly a quarter ounce of syrup. Add bourbon to the beaker until almost full. Mix with a spoon. Top with more crushed ice. Garish with a sprig of fresh mint and sprinkle the mint with powered sugar. Serve with a metal straw that just crests the rim of the beaker.
Have you ever heard that its blasphemy to mix good bourbon? Well… thats a good rule, but like all rules there are exceptions, and rules are made to be broken. I like to use what I consider to be middle-quality bourbon in my juleps. My overall suggestion to you is to use Elmer T Lee. ETL is really more of a top shelf bourbon at a middle price level (as of the writing of this post), making it a great value. It also has a lot of sweetness, which works well in a julep. If you prefer to use bottom shelf/value bourbon, for Kentuckians, I suggest Very Old Barton. Its easy to find and about the best value on the shelf. For Virginians, I suggest Virginia Gentleman. If you’re from somewhere else, you can probably still find one, if not both of these options. If you prefer top shelf bourbon in your julep, I bet you already know what you want to use.
If you haven’t already, notice that The Greenbrier’s mint julep recipe is quite similar to the Modern recipe I’ve provided. The Greenbrier succeeds in making a quality modern julep, but I think they have a luxury of budget, and a tradition of history, that no establishments can match. Others can and do put out a quality julep, but it is rare. This is especially true since many high quality bars like to put their own spin on a julep. There is certainly nothing wrong with that, but this post is about history and the classics.
I’d like to take a quick aside and talk about my copper julep cup. I bought these after seeing an article about them in Garden and Gun. They’re beautiful, but also significantly larger. Copper is not traditional, but I highly recommend them (especially in addition to a more traditional set).
Making a great mint julep is fairly easy to learn, but difficult to master. So how and why does the julep get ruined in restaurants? They use the following recipe:
The Post-Modern Mint Julep
Take the fundamentals of the mint julep as provided above. Then consider mass appeal and profit.
Examples include serving in a glass with a plastic straw, adding soda water, using granulated sugar, using the wrong type of mint, the list goes on. If you have to add fruit, at least choose a fruit that grows in the south, in America. Strawberry or peach are examples of authentic additions. Let me briefly clarify my comment about granulated sugar. It can be used to make simple syrup. It should not be stirred into water or bourbon as it does not completely incorporate. If you are too lazy to make simple syrup (which when made most simply, involves pouring equal parts water and sugar into a pyrex container/mug and microwaving for about a minute) then at least seek out superfine sugar, which dissolves much more quickly than granulated sugar. Lets look at a real world example of a Post-Modern Julep:
Branch water is not I-talian sparkling water. They used lemon, but not a beaker. “Southern style.” I’ve had this julep and it is enjoyable, but given this bar’s heritage, I expect better. One could ask for no sparkling water, and no lemon, but it would still be served in a glass.
Now, my gift to you, lets watch a true master craft a julep the way God intended:
This master and champion of the julep discussed the seasonality of the julep, gave us a history lesson and a physics lesson, and recited a poem, all while teaching us the art of the mint julep. I have never seen such an informed and passionate barman. Truly an inspiration.
Post Bonus: An interview with, and an article about, Chris McMillian, the bartender featured above.
If you’re looking for more recipes, The Mint Julep by Richard Barksdale Harwell has a wealth of detailed poetic instructions and rituals. As you can hopefully tell, as a Virginian, and bourbon connoisseur, I take my mint juleps seriously. I hope I’ve gathered and presented information on this quintessential American cocktail in an entertaining, interesting, and informative way. My goal was to create the most comprehensive and subjectively superior blog post on the julep to date. Its my sincere hope that you procure a julep cup, julep straw, Kentucky Colonel mint (spearmint from the grocery store or your garden will do in a pinch), and use this post to make yourself a truly great julep.
When the mint is in the liquor and its fragrance on the glass
It breathes a recollection that can never, never pass–
When the South was in the glory of a never-ending June
The strings were on the banjo and the fiddle was in tune,
And we reveled in the plenty that we thought could never pass
And lingered at the julep in the ever-brimming glass.
— Clarence Ousley
If you need some supplies:
Julep Cups (I suggest silver-plated (my preference) or pewter, assuming your budget/inheritance doesn’t include silver. Figure out what size/volume you want. My copper cups have a 12 oz capacity. I would estimate that my silver plate cups have an 8-10 oz capacity.)
Julep Straws (You want the straw to come to just above the rim on the cup, so that one can enjoy the fragrance of the mint while sipping. Steel straws can be cut with a dremel tool, with a metal cutting disk. I use a copper tube cutter for my copper straws, which are really just lengths of tube I cut down to size.)
Kentucky Colonel Mint (my local herb place didn’t have any of the colonel this year, so I ordered it online. Mine shipped from Richmond, so at least a Virginian got my money.)
Nugget Ice Machine Just like sonic or cook out. One of my least favorite parts of making a mint julep is finding my lewis bag and mallet. This takes a lot of the work (but perhaps some of the soul) out of making a julep. I love mine. For better or worse, it definitely has me making more juleps.
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