Mint Julep

by chris | Aug 14, 2016 | Fizzy, Friendly, Juicy

There seem to be two main variations on mint julep mocktails: the basic one, really focusing on the mint, with a little lemon and sugar; and one that tries to be closer to the adult cocktail, using ginger ale and lemon to mimic the bourbon of the original adult drink. This is the basic one.

Ingredients

1 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup roughly chopped mint leaves
1 cup water
750ml soda water
Ice cubes
Additional mint leaves to garnish

Instructions

• Combine sugar, mint leaves and water in a small saucepan.
• Stir over low heat until sugar has dissolved.
• Bring to boil and simmer for five minutes.
• Place in the fridge until chilled.
• Pour into jug, add soda water and ice cubes.
• Garnish with mint leaves.

If you’re just making a drink for one, and can’t be bothered to boil up the lime leaves, here’s a simpler version:

Lazy way

Ingredients

• Juice of half a lemon
• 1-2 teaspoons of sugar (to taste)
• 5-6 mint leaves
• soda water

Instructions

• Muddle the lemon juice, sugar and mint leaves at the bottom of your glass.
• Add lots of ice cubes.
• Fill glass to the top with soda water.
• Stir well, then garnish with extra mint leaves.

As with the lime rickey, it’s important to stir the drink after adding the soda water, to ensure the flavour goes all through the drink. This is a good opportunity to taste whether you have enough sugar.

Yes, the second recipe had lemon added. My first attempt was a bit tart, but I had only used 1 teaspoon of caster  sugar, which wasn’t quite enough.

Enjoy.