Categories
What is Wrong with this Mint Julep
Darcy O'Neil :: January 26, 2007 11:19 AM
It is the weekend so lets review a video and see if we can identify some cocktail and bartender related issues. I came across this video on the Webtender forums and it just made me chuckle. The video comes from a Florida bartender competition, kind of. Basically, it's a bunch of video's where you get to vote for your favourite bartenders based on the drinks they make, or more likely their cleavage and muscle build. This particular video is of a Woodford Reserve Mint Julep, made by Andrea who was voted "Best Bartender" in South Florida. Let us see how she does.
The recipe for a classic Mint Julep is as follows, just for your reference:
Mint Julep
2 oz Bourbon
3-4 Mint Sprigs
1 tsp Sugar
Splash of Water
Place mint, sugar and water into shaker and muddle until the sugar is dissolved. Add bourbon and ice, shake and strain into glass with crushed ice. Garnish with a mint sprig.
Now have your pen and paper ready and start listing what is wrong with this Mint Julep. Here is the video for your viewing pleasure:
So what did you see that was wrong. First limes don’t belong in a true Mint Julep. Next Rose’s definitely doesn’t belong in a Mint Julep and why would you add synthetic lime sour to a perfectly fine real sour mix (lime juice and sugar). Then she muddles with the wrong end of the muddler, which seems to be pretty common error among bartenders. Then she adds sour mix, but why? Weren’t the first two types of sour mix not enough? After a shake she pours the drink into a glass that is woefully to big. Instead of adding more ice she hits it with a blast of Sprite. She still leaves about an inch of space in the glass. More ice would have fixed that. Then she garnishes it with a wilted mint spring that looks like a dead palm tree.
Now I understand that there are different bartenders for different bars. I don’t expect to get truly “classic” drinks at the type of place Andrea works at, I’d order a beer, but if you are going to make a Mint Julep, save some time and skip all three sour mix's, they don’t really belong. With a couple little things, Andrea could make a good Mint Julep and actually save herself some time. Just cut out the limes, Rose’s, sour mix, Sprite and add more ice, use a rocks glass, and you’ll have a decent Mint Julep. If a classic Mint Julep is too strong for Andre’s clientèle, then just add some more sugar, it seems to be the American way. Also, the use of three different "lime sours" shows a complete lack of knowledge about what she is working with, or whoever taught her.
On a side note, I find it funny that bartenders will add more steps than necessary to a simple drink, but cut back on the steps required to make something like a Singapore Sling.
Mint Julep
2 oz Bourbon
3-4 Mint Sprigs
1 tsp Sugar
Splash of Water
Place mint, sugar and water into shaker and muddle until the sugar is dissolved. Add bourbon and ice, shake and strain into glass with crushed ice. Garnish with a mint sprig.
Now have your pen and paper ready and start listing what is wrong with this Mint Julep. Here is the video for your viewing pleasure:
So what did you see that was wrong. First limes don’t belong in a true Mint Julep. Next Rose’s definitely doesn’t belong in a Mint Julep and why would you add synthetic lime sour to a perfectly fine real sour mix (lime juice and sugar). Then she muddles with the wrong end of the muddler, which seems to be pretty common error among bartenders. Then she adds sour mix, but why? Weren’t the first two types of sour mix not enough? After a shake she pours the drink into a glass that is woefully to big. Instead of adding more ice she hits it with a blast of Sprite. She still leaves about an inch of space in the glass. More ice would have fixed that. Then she garnishes it with a wilted mint spring that looks like a dead palm tree.
Now I understand that there are different bartenders for different bars. I don’t expect to get truly “classic” drinks at the type of place Andrea works at, I’d order a beer, but if you are going to make a Mint Julep, save some time and skip all three sour mix's, they don’t really belong. With a couple little things, Andrea could make a good Mint Julep and actually save herself some time. Just cut out the limes, Rose’s, sour mix, Sprite and add more ice, use a rocks glass, and you’ll have a decent Mint Julep. If a classic Mint Julep is too strong for Andre’s clientèle, then just add some more sugar, it seems to be the American way. Also, the use of three different "lime sours" shows a complete lack of knowledge about what she is working with, or whoever taught her.
On a side note, I find it funny that bartenders will add more steps than necessary to a simple drink, but cut back on the steps required to make something like a Singapore Sling.
1215 Comments on What is Wrong with this Mint Julep
Leave a Comment
Let's not even talk about the way she made the Mint Julep. You can trick any average customer by at least making it look decent. That's one of the ugliest drinks I've ever seen anyone make.
I've to add: it is one of the worst classic drinks I've seen for a while, but presented in a quite attractive (or should I say effective?) way...
But sure, I wouldn't recommend Andrea to pursue her bartender career... I would have other ideas.
Actually my mint julep comes into a small silver tankard - the mint leaves are just bruised in water and sugar with the small muddler on top of my barspoon - it is just build up (respective stirred) directly in the tankard. And I stir with crushed (better cracked) ice till the tankard is fog over...
Sometimes I like to add a drop of bitters, which is then not classic but gives even more interesting aromas...
Andrea, you should be on the other side of the bar counter...
Cheers!
DMJ
If I'd made a Mint Julep like *that* when I was tending at Del Mar Racetrack, the security guards would've shot me.
By public assent.
And just to pour salt in the wound, she has to spoil a shot or three of Woodford Reserve, when any old bourbon would do for that drink...
I agree. One thing a bartender should do is at least make the drink look decent.
The problem I had to Andrea's recipe is not just that it wasn't a true Mint Julep, but that it doesn't seem like a good drink either, regardless of what category it might be classified in.
As you note, why sour mix and lime, and Rose's?
Best Bartender competitions, titles, the whole shebang is bogus.
Now people like this would probably say "well can you do better?". Why yes, I can, and I will.
The money for my digital video camera has be allocated, and so I wait (for the moment to strike!-)
youtube.com here I come!!!
Right off the bat I knew something was up when she said it was basically like a mojito. I guess the popularity of the mojito has carried over to make anything that has mint leaves in it be considered "like a mojito." Sad in a way, but not surprising. :(
She should be shot on the spot for that. Does this programme actually get shown on TV in the US ?
Darcy, that is the funniest damned thing I've ever seen. The spoonful of sugar, the complete lack of muddling knowledge, and the Sprite had me rolling.
Rock on Darcy! Bring on the videos! Between you and Brilliant Cocktails, we're sure to have lots of quality bartending to watch for quite a while.
And, by the way, if she's going to bother to shake the darn drink, then SHAKE IT! Some people don't realize the point of shaking isn't just to mix the ingredients, it's to chill the drink, so if you're going to shake it, shake it like hell for a good 10 seconds or so!
I'd like to share with you a mint julep recipe that was shared with me by Bill Samuels Jr. (president of Makers Mark). It is a family recipe that seven generations have made this way.
Pour 4-5 oz of Makers into a large bowl.
clean and remove the stems of at least 1/2 lb of mint (absolut freshness is key)
Place the mint into the center of a T-shirt or cloth napkin and pull the corners together forming a ball that can be rung out(cheese cloth doesn't work as well for this).
Dab the mint ball into the Makers and ring out firmly, repeating this process many times (at least 20). What this is doing is not only extracting mint flavor but also the phenols in the leaf that add bitternes.
Take the remaining Makers from the bottle and mix with simple syrup at a ratio of 7oz Makers to 1oz simple syrup (I prefer a 50/50 simple syrup)
Taste the sweet Makers and ONE SPOON AT A TIME add in the mint infusion, tasting after every spoon. What your looking for is the first moment that bitterness is sensed on the back of your palate and then you know that enough of the mint extract has been added.
Chill in a freezer until cold (it will last a long time)
Pour 2oz of this Mint Infused Makers into a tall glass over crushed ice, sprinkle a little supper-fine sugar on the top and garnish with a small sprig of fresh mint and a stir stick. Never serve with a straw, this is considered a faux-pas.
Despite what others will tell you, do not add water...the crushed ice gives you the melt factor very quickly.
You could also try this method with other Bourbons but the ratios will change dramaticly as they all have a distinct difference. For example, Jim Beam uses a fair punch of rye grain and already has a bit of a bitter/spicyness that is totaly opposite to the front palate sweetness of Makers Mark.
BTW that Andrea should stick to selling push up bras and get out from behind that bar...leave it to people who actually know what's going on.
Why is it always the most dangerous ones who have uncensored access to video cameras! How can we expect the industry to be taken as seriously as something like gourmet cuisine when this kind of blaspheme can be accesed by millions. We can only hope the damage to our creditability as bartenders is minimal, and take heart in a minutes worth of pure jaw-dropping, clueless and dumbfounding ridiculousness. Bless.
Wow, she made me cringe, right down to calling a soda glass/ chimney a highball.
Taking a soda glass, fill halfway with crushed ice. Drop in 5-6 mint leaves. Fill with crushed ice. Run your bar spoon through the ice - top to bottom - several time to break up and diffuse the mint. Add 3 oz. of Early Times, and 2 Oz. Simple Syrup. Run the bar spoon through once more.
Never knew such a cool drink like a Mint Julep could be so badly screwed up. I have a palate for Whisky and have developed the same over twelve years of my bartending experience. Always thought that the mint julep was a great classic. I do it as follows:
Fresh Mint Leaves, Castor sugar, Lime Juice and loads of Cracked ice with a 60ml bourbon.
In India we have item girls and she fits fell she fits in pretty well................
Hmmm...pretty tough crowd here.
Mint juleps come in different versions and the version w/lime works very well as a substitute for iced tea on a very hot day. It's not as potent as a "classic" mint julep, but when you are, say, out on the water/on a river trip, rafting down the Green River in June, or the Missouri headwaters in July and August, there's nothing like having a julep in one hand and your hand dragging in the water with the other. (We tend to mix our julep's in 5 gallon gatorade containers or 2-liter Platypus bags for the river trips. Ice isn't added until it's needed (stays in a different cooler and doesn't water down the drink until it's needed).
As for the Rose's v. real lime debate: it depends on what you're looking for. Rose's has more bite and tang, real lime is softer and floats. Sometimes Rose's is what you need, sometimes fresh lime. Kind of like the hard-sided kayak v. "duckie" debate: both use the same paddle, one's better for playing in small water, the other's better for playing in big water.
Now on Kentucky Derby day, the "classic" works just fine, but when it gets a little hotter, and conditions are a little harsher, the mint julep mojito-version works just great too.