«The Julep, The Mint Julep, and the Kentucky Mint Julep.»

Quotes and Commentary.

By George Sinclair.When one calls for a Julep in the modern bar, one is assumed to beasking for a Mint-type Julep, and not only that, but a Bourbon-basedKentucky Mint Julep. Some how the truly multifarious nature of thehistorical Mint Julep has been rail-roaded into a narrowly definedcategory, the modern Mint Julep. Take a look at the wide selection ofhistorical quotes, which illustrate the different ingredients used during theover 200 years of Mint Julep history, and also the methods of preparationused to produce these masterpieces. Learn something you didn't knowbefore about the forefather of the Mojito.

TRAVELS OF FOUR YEARS AND A HALF IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,By JOHN DAVIS, 1803.

"Julep." "A dram of spirituous liquor that has mint steeped in it, taken byVirginians of a morning."The above, 1803 reference, is often stated as being the first reference toa Mint Julep, but, and this might seem picky to some people, it actuallyrefers to a Julep made with mint; The drink itself is not entitled «MintJulep», and so should not be regarded as such. Before 1803 there arenumerous references to Juleps; Though most of these were medicinal inpurpose, there are citations for recreational Juleps, i.e. Those to beconsumed for the purposes of pleasure, rather than to cure some ailmentor malady.The 1803 reference to a mint-related Julep, is not the first association ofMint to the Julep; Medicinal Juleps of the 1700's included mint water insome of their recipes, as well as cinnamon water, and all manner ofother herbaciously flavoured «waters».

Transatlantic Sketches: Comprising Visits to the Most Interesting Scenes inNorth and South... By James Edward Alexander, 1833.

"... Mint Julep. Put four or five stalks of unbruised mint into a tumbler, onthem place a lump of ice; add brandy, water, and sugar."The above quotation is the first which specifies a recipe for the non-medicinal type of Mint Julep; This is definitely not a bottled medicine,prescribed by the tablespoonful; This is a bona fide libation, to be drunk at one sitting, and then presumably followed by another.The recipe given for the 1833 Mint Julep is identical to a drink called aMint Sling; However in future years the Mint Julep would come to bedefined by its almost, but not quite, exclusive use of pounded/ shaved/crushed ice.The 1833 Mint Julep is also the first occurence of the libation being aBrandy based drink, which is what most recipes would list it as being,either that or it was shown as a Rum drink; Not a lick of Bourbon in sight.

"Autobiography of an Irish traveller", By Irish traveller, 1835

"Sir, you've only to ask me for what you may want, for father to-morrowwill be all mops and brooms with his voters, and not know a glass of grogfrom a mint julep.*"*Fresh mint pounded and the juice mixed with rum and sugar.So what was the Mint Julep in the eyes of the above author?, it wouldseem that, to the “Irish Traveller”, it was considered a Mint Grog, not toodissimilar to a Mint Sling. The above Mint Julep recipe advocates mixingonly the juice from the mint, rather than adding the Mint Leavesthemselves, as most modern Mint Julep constructors would.A Grog is rum, and water; sometimes with the addition of sugar, and oneven rarer occasions the addition of lemon; Add mint to that lot, and

you have an uncarbonated Mojito; However, without mention of type ofice used, I can only assume that the Mint Julep, as stated in the abovequote, was mint, rum, sugar, with the type of water being unstated(frozen or liquid?).

"Memoirs of a Water Drinker", By William Dunlap, 1837

"The mint-julep before breakfast in summer, and the egg-nogg in winter;the enticing toddy, with ice, at one season, and smoking hot at theother, as a prelude to dinner..."Such a habit, of drinking Mint Juleps at the crack of dawn, might seemodd to us modern folk, but in that day and age, it was the done thing.The 1803 Julep reference referred to the Julep as a morning drink, and itseems that little had changed in 1837, though it is likely that the later Julep would definitely have had an iced element to them.

A Diary in America, By Capt. Marryat, 1839

"There are many varieties [of Mint Julep], such as those composed ofClaret, Madiera, &c.; but the ingredients of the real mint-julep are asfollows. I learnt how to make them, and succeeded pretty well. Put into atumbler about a dozen sprigs of the tender shoots of mint, upon themput a spoonful of white sugar, and equal proportions of peach andcommon brandy, so as to fill it up one-third, or perhaps a little less. Thentake rasped or pounded ice, and fill up the tumbler. Epicures rub the lipsof the tumbler with a piece of fresh pine-apple, and the tumbler itself isvery often incrusted outside with stalactites of ice. As the ice melts, youdrink."The above Mint Julep, as you will have already noted, did not containexclusively alcoholic spirits, but was also able to be contructed fromwines also. It also seems as though people were less cantankerous abouttheir libations than they are today; Pineapple flavours in a Mint Julep,