Spirited Cocktails

Last week, in a fit of oppositional defiance against the Mint Julep, I introduced you to the Apple Julep. I should first explain that my opposition to the mint julep was based only upon the over-abundance of coverage of the drink in advance of the Kentucky Derby. I’m a huge fan of the cocktail myself, and highly encourage you to give it a try. Have a look at Lush Life’s coverage of this classic with Dale DeGroff, and perhaps we’ll cover the drink ourselves during non-derby season (again, just to be defiant).

In any case, after posting about our alternative, one of our friends via Twitter – Pia Mara Finkel (whom you can and should follow at @piamara) – suggested a possible alteration. Her suggestion was to try the cocktail with Calvados – a French apple brandy – as opposed to the Applejack we used. This was, of course, a wonderful suggestion.

The history of Calvados is rich indeed. We won’t bore you with the details here, but you can read more on Wikipedia, or in the book Calvados: The World’s Premier Apple Brandy by Henrik Mattsson.

What is important is that Applejack, which we used in our first recipe, is a blended spirit composed of 35% apple brandy and 65% neutral spirits, whereas Calvados is a straight apple brandy (not blended with any other spirits). As a result, the Calvados provides a much stronger apple taste (which is very nice!), but as Pia Mara predicted, a little extra sweetener (in the form of maple syrup) was required (at least for our taste). We upped the original recipe from 1 bar spoon of maple syrup to 2.

In the end, we’re still fans of the Applejack version for sure, but this variation is definitely one to keep in your arsenal. Many thanks again to @piamara for the terrific idea!

Cheers!

I had the opportunity yesterday to sample Maker’s Mark (premade) Mint Julep at Astor Wines & Spirits  (@astorwines). I must admit, I didn’t expect much. If nothing else, the making of a Mint Julep is a time-honored tradition, and the idea of purchasing a Mint Julep in a bottle wasn’t particularly appealing to me. I must admit though, after tasting it, I was pleasantly surprised!

It was definitely on the sweeter side as mint juleps go, but if you’re having a Derby party this year and the idea of hand-crafting mint juleps by the dozen just doesn’t appeal, I think this would be a fine substitution (and if you make a good show of it, most people will never know!)

The only catch is that this bottled mint julep is fairly hard to find. Astor Wines & Spirits here in New York was carrying a small inventory, but the Makers Mark representative there told me that distribution was still pretty limited. It’s worth a shot though!

If you’re interested in making your own Mint Juleps by hand (certainly the path I would recommend, especially if you can’t find this special-edition Makers Mark), check out Dale DeGroff, the king of cocktails himself, making Mint Juleps trackside over at the Lush Life site.

Cheers!

So the Kentucky Derby is coming up this weekend, which means that everybody and their brother will be making Mint Juleps. There’s a long and storied history behind the Mint Julep – it’s preparation, and it’s relationship to the Kentucky Derby – on Wikipedia, so I won’t bore you with it here. I’m not going to make a Mint Julep either; it’s too cliché. Instead, we’re going to make an Apple Julep.

Many of my readers from the South will cry sacrilege here, but I find the Apple Julep to be a refreshing and creative adaptation. Don’t yell at me until you’ve tried it!

Here’s what you’re going to need:

2oz Applejack (apple brandy)
1 bar spoon of maple syrup
1 spring of mint for muddling and 3-4 sprigs for garnish

It’s really pretty easy. If you have a silver julep cup (as you can see here), great. If not, a normal rocks glass will do. Pour your bar spoon of maple syrup (the real stuff; none of that fake supermarket syrup) into the bottom of your glass. Add the leaves of one sprig of mint. Press the leaves gently with your muddler to release the oils. (If you have a muddler with teeth on the end, consider using the handle side; you don’t want to crush the mint, or you’ll end up with a bitter drink.)

After you’ve pressed the mint leaves into the syrup, fill the glass with cracked ice. (If you’re working with full ice cubes, use the back of your bar spoon to crack each cube; you want the ice in fairly small pieces here.) Add your 2oz of Applejack, and stir well until a nice frost forms on the outside of your glass. Some of your ice will have melted down, so top off the glass with more ice, and add your 3-4 springs of mint as garnish. The garnish is essential here (as in the Badminton Cup), because you want the fresh mint to act as an aromatic.

The result is a very tasty cocktail, fit for any fan of the Triple Crown.

Cheers!