It's Mint Julep Time Again

Tomorrow is Kentucky Derby Day, the one day a year when you just must drink bourbon, most likely in the form of a mint julep. Last year I gave you my go-to mint julep recipe which you can check out here. That recipe makes an awesome drink, but it's also a bit complicated, especially if you're trying to make juleps for a whole party full of people who are all drinking like racehorses.

So this year, I offer a simple, more scalable recipe for a quick, easy, and awesomely refreshing Mint Julep. You can use this same recipe to make one mint julep or fifty, and it should be quick and easy either way so have fun with it.

You'll need:
1. Bourbon. I'm going to use the new Early Times 354 Bourbon this year. Early Times Kentucky Whiskey is what they use at Churchill Downs for their standard mint juleps, but now that ET is selling an honest to goodness bourbon in the U.S. why not use that? It's affordable and pretty tasty to boot!
2. Ice - lots of it.
3. Mint - leaves, fresh, cleaned...picked from your garden if possible.
4. Simple syrup - boil 1 cup sugar in 1 cup water until dissolved, refrigerate until you need it.

Put the mint and the ice in a blender, blend until it has a nice snow-cone consistency. Fill your glasses (6-8 oz. old fashioned glasses are perfect) about 2/3 full with the blended ice/mint mixture. Pour in a couple ounces of bourbon and a dash of simple syrup. If you have a few mint sprigs left over use them for garnish. Enjoy while watching the Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports!

Hazelnut Rye Flip

This past weekend was the time for decorating at my house, and I decided to make the tree lighting and tinsel hanging a little more fun this year by coming up with a tasty drink to match the festive atmosphere. I think my creation hits all the right holiday flavors perfectly, especially if you're a fan of rye whiskey.

You'll Need:

• 1 oz. Rye Whiskey - I used a classic, Old Overholt
• 1/2 oz. Frangelico hazelnut liqueur
• 1 egg white
• Dash of Angostura bitters
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• Cinnamon stick for garnish

1. Pour everything but the cinnamon stick into a large shaker filled with ice.
2. Shake vigorously for a minute or so - you really want to froth up the egg white for a nice creamy drink.
3. Strain it into rocks glass over a few cubes of ice - I recommend using a very fine strainer to keep out any stray chunks of nutmeg or cinnamon.
4. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.
5. Enjoy with Christmas carols and a warm sweater.

Great Cocktail - Marble Rye

I had a really delicious and unique cocktail last night at a local Philadelphia restaurant called Zahav. The cocktail was called the Marble Rye and I highly recommend it if you're dining at Zahav. The ingredient list and name make you think this drink will taste like liquid rye bread, but it's actually a refreshing, light spritzer of a drink with just enough whiskey kick behind it. If you want to try to make your own, the ingredients are:

1. Pumpernickel and Caraway infused Rye - you'll have to play around with making this yourself. I'd say start with a bottle of Jim Beam Rye, pour it into a large, sealable jar and drop in a handful of caraway seeds and a chunk of pumpernickel break. Let it sit in a cool, dark spot for a week or two and see what happens.
2. Celery Soda - hard to come by in most places, but not impossible - see Wikipedia.
3. I'm guessing the proportions were about 1 part infused rye to 3 parts celery soda - shaken and poured over ice with a lemon twist.

If you have any luck making this at home let me know!

Courtesy of Maker's Mark - The Bluegrass Breeze

Back home in Kentucky they've been celebrating bourbon heritage month for the past few weeks, and it just so happens to coincide nicely with the World Equestrian Games that are being contested through October 10th in Lexington. In honor of these events dozens of distillers, restaurants, and bars in Kentucky and nationwide have created signature cocktails based on America's official native spirit - bourbon.

One of the best of these cocktails that I have come across so far is The Bluegrass Breeze - a cocktail being billed as the signature cocktail of the World Equestrian Games by Maker's Mark. It's just a slight variation on a simple classic - bourbon and ginger ale - with the addition of a bit of curacao adding a new and refreshing twist. The basic recipe is below and you can read more about the drink on kypost.com.

Bluegrass Breeze
Signature Cocktail of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2010

1.5 ounces Maker’s Mark Bourbon
3 ounces Ginger Ale
0.5 ounces DeKuyper Orange Curacao
1 orange slice

Directions:
In a rocks glass filled with ice, pour in Maker’s Mark Bourbon and DeKuyper Orange Curacao and top off with ginger ale. Squeeze orange and drop in glass.

Did Ya Miss Me?

After a very relaxing couple of weeks traveling around Canada, the Caribbean, and New England and completely ignoring the internet and other modern technologies I'm back in action and I have plenty to write about. I picked up several cool bottles of whiskey during my travels and I look forward to reviewing those over the next few days. I was also forced to drink lots of rum and fruity cocktails (see below) while in the Caribbean, so look forward to a series of posts about whiskey-alternatives that might appeal to your inner beach bum.

Check back over the next week or two for these and more exciting posts.

Whiskey Jim's Perfect Mint Julep

The mint julep is the official drink of the Kentucky Derby, and although I'm about a month late for Derby Day, I think mint juleps are a great drink any time the temperature starts to creep into the 80s or 90s. Here in Philadelphia we've had a couple weeks of scorching hot temperatures, so mint juleps certainly seem appropriate. The mint juleps that I make for Derby Day, and any other time I can get my hands on fresh mint, are loosely based on a recipe from The Bartender's Guide by Peter Bohrmann.

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