Cool taste of the South
By Dave Broom
AS y'all know, 3 May sees the running of the world's greatest horse race. On the first Saturday in May all eyes are fixed on Kentucky's Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby.
The success of this meet is not only due to the quality of the horseflesh, but also to the way the crowd has been fuelled. No Champagne here. In Kentucky the mint julep reigns supreme.
The julep is one of the world's great cocktails and is due for a revival. Typically, its secret is simplicity, and this is where the debates begin. Every aspect is passionately argued about - genteelly - this is the South after all.
On paper it's a doddle. All you need is fresh mint, ice, sugar syrup and bourbon. Let's start with the mint. If you are Bill Samuels (of Maker's Mark) you pick mint only in April, use only the tenderest leaves, which you then tie up in a T-shirt, place in a solid container holding the whiskey, batter with a mallet and then squeeze. Before he became a distiller, Bill designed nuclear warheads.
Obviously this method would not appeal to everyone, but fresh mint does make all the difference. There are two ways to use it: infuse the syrup with it, or place a bunch in the glass, having just cut the stems so that oils bleed into the drink.
The mint syrup is made by simmering one cup of mint, two of water and one of sugar for 15 minutes, and allowing it to stand to cool for an hour or so. Then the mint is removed and the syrup put in the fridge. For standard syrup don't use mint. Otherwise, lightly crush mint leaves in the basic syrup - or add them, uncrushed, to the syrup and macerate overnight.
Do NOT use ice cubes. Use crushed ice. Then take a tall glass and fill it two-thirds full of ice, add 3oz of bourbon and 1oz syrup, stir lightly. Pack the glass with ice so it domes over the top. Cut the mint, place in glass along with short straws (this means you get a faceful of garnish, but that's the point) and leave to stand, so that ice forms on the outside of the glass.
There is a large choice of bourbons. Treat bourbon like de luxe (or malt) whisky. Maker's Mark is stunningly complex and spicy; Jim Beam is simple and sweet; Wild Turkey 101 has a honeyed kick that I personally love; Rebel Yell is a cracker. The Tennessee contingent have full, rich flavours (Jack Daniels) or are finely flavoured (George Dickel).
The adventurous could use basil or tansy instead of mint. Ideally, men should also wear a white suit and refer to themselves as Colonel. Women should float about in pastel dresses, sighing.
Kentucky is humid, but you're not allowed to sweat. The julep cools you down, freshens you up, makes the world a more beautiful place. The great danger, of course, is overindulgence. Too many, and what should be a soothing experience is turned into something altogether different. The genteel air slips, revealing the decaying, distorted gothic madness that fuels Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner and the songs of Nick Cave. There again, some people like that effect.
