Julep

Throughout its entire early history, the Julep was only mentioned in texts as a medicine. Some recipes included alcohol as an ingredient, but it was in the form of a base for an herbal tincture. Healers prescribed all sorts of brews under the "julab" label, well into the eighteenth century.

1350-1400;  Middle English < Middle French < Arabic julāb < Persian  gulāb, equivalent to gul rose + āb water

C14: from Old French, from Arabic julāb, from Persian gulāb, rose water, from gul rose + āb water

Late 14c., a syrupy drink in which medicine was given, from Old French julep (14c.), from Medieval Latin julapium, from Arabic julab, from Persian gulab "rose water," from gul "rose" (related to Greek rhodon, Latin rosa) + ab "water," from PIE root *ap- (see water (n.1)). Sense of "alcoholic drink flavored with mint" is first recorded 1787, American English. (Online Etymological Dictionary)

Dr. Samuel Johnson defines "julap" in A Dictionary of the English Language, 1755, as an extemporaneous form of medicine, made of simple and compound water sweetened, serving for a vehicle to other forms not so convenient to take alone."

In the early 1800s, doctors used the word julep to describe "a kind of liquid medicine." These were remedies in which leaves from the mentha family were used to soften the taste of the medication. 

The julep as a drink was once taken as a form of cordial. Poet John Milton (1608 - 1674) described a "julep cordial" in his poem, Comus. It is offered to the Lady as a form of seduction.

And first behold this cordial julep here,
That flames and dances in his crystal bounds,
With spirits of balm and fragrant syrups mixed.
Not that Nepenthes which the wife of Thone
In Egypt gave to Jove-born Helena
Is of such power to stir up joy as this,

The term "julep" can be traced through France to north Africa and Persia. The people of this area were big users of mint. They made it into teas and even now drink it constantly. This region was also the first to distill alcohol.

Mint Julep History, from Chris Morris:

"The julep has its roots, surprisingly, in the Arab world," said Chris Morris, Master Distiller for Woodford Reserve Bourbon and American spirits historian.

"Centuries ago, there was an Arabic drink called julab, made with water and rose petals. The beverage had a delicate and refreshing scent that people thought would instantly enhance the quality of their lives." When the julab was introduced to the Mediterranean region, the native population replaced the rose petals with mint, a plant indigenous to the area. The mint julep, as it was now called, grew in popularity throughout Europe.

The main ingredient of the Mint Julep is Bourbon Whiskey. "The biggest change for the julep was the addition of American whiskey to the recipe," says Morris. "The julep was quickly transformed into a mixture of water, sugar, mint leaves, and good American whiskey."

"You see, the julep was originally a morning drink. It was the spirited equivalent of coffee in today's society. Just the drink needed to get the morning started and the ultimate picker-upper," said Morris. Mint Julep's popularity came to rest in the agricultural regions of the east and southeast, where farmers awakened at dawn. "One sip and Pow! The farmers were ready to face the long day."

Like the farmers, the horse trainers were up early and would prepare the julep first thing in the morning. Through the years, the drink started showing up at regional horse races, where the mint julep made the transition from a morning drink to a "sipping" cocktail.

"Through all of the years and all of the changes, one thing has remained constant — the mint julep is one of the most aromatically pleasing concoctions ever created," said Morris. "And, does it ever taste good!"

To honor Kentucky Derby Day, we can offer this Mint Cordial recipe from Mary Randolph, The Virginia House-Wife, 1824:

Put two handfuls of mint into a pitcher with a quart of French brandy.
Cover and let it stand until the next day.
Take the mint out carefully and put as much in again, which must be taken out the next day.
Do this a third time.
Then add three quarts of water to the brandy, along with 1 pound of loaf sugar powdered.
Mix it well and when clear, bottle it.

For all intents and purposes, this is a mint julep. The only differences are that Mrs. Randolph's method uses French brandy instead of bourbon, there is no ice and the name is different.

I have even seen a recipe for mint juleps that includes a simple sugar syrup mixed with mint leaves for a day or two — then use that to make the juleps.

Mint Julep (A Diary in America, By Captain Frederick Marryat, 1837, published 1839)

"Put into a tumbler about a dozen sprigs of the tender shoots of mint, upon them put a spoonful of white sugar, and equal proportions of peach and common brandy, so as to fill it up one-third, or perhaps a little less. Then take rasped or pounded ice, and fill up the tumbler. Epicures rub the lips of the tumbler with a piece of fresh pine-apple, and the tumbler itself is very often incrusted outside with stalactites of ice. As the ice melts, you drink."

6 - 12 sprigs of mint
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 oz. brandy
1 1/2 oz. peach brandy or liqueur
1 slice fresh pineapple

Muddle mint in the bottom of a glass along with the sugar. Add brandies, then fill tumbler with ice. Stir until condensation forms on the outside of the glass. Rub the lip of the tumbler with a slice of fresh pineapple.

Chris Morris' Mint Julep Recipe (modern)

3-5 mint leaves
1t Powdered Sugar
2t Water
2 — 2 1/2 oz. Woodford Reserve Bourbon
Crushed Ice

Muddle (stir/gentle crush) four mint springs and sugar in the bottom of a julep glass. Add water, continuing to muddle contents to a paste. Add Woodford Reserve Bourbon. Pack the julep glass with crushed ice. Garnish with a mint spring and don't forget the sipping straw.

If a metal julep cup is used, be sure to use a wooden muddler (bottom of a wooden spoon) instead of metal spoon to eliminate the possibility of scratching your julep cup.

Historical References:

A letter from Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu, to the Duchess of Portland in 1741:

"I have swallowed the weight of an apothecary in medicine; all the tribe of pills, beginning from the mighty bolus, powders of all tastes, electuaries of all consistencies, juleps of all kinds; and what I am the better, except more patient and less credulous, I don't know; I have learnt to bear my infirmities, and not to trust to physicians for the curing them."

1774

Juleps have been served in the south since the 1700s. A visitor in 1774, describing the southern menu and especially breakfast as being overly luxurious, observed that the average planter rose early and had his drink (because a julep before breakfast was believed to give protection against malaria).

Tour In The United States; The Present Situation, Population, Agriculture, Commerce, Customs, Manners And A Description Of The Indian Nations V1, 1784, by John Ferdinand Dalziel Smyth, physician

In the summer-time, says Captain Smyth, the average planter "rises in the morning about 6 o'clock [the very rich men, he says, rose at 9]; he then drinks a julep, made of rum, water and sugar, but very strong; then he walks, or more generally rides, round his plantation, views all his stock and all his crop, breakfasts about 10 o'clock on cold turkey, cold meat, fried hominy, toast and cyder, ham, bread and butter, tea, coffee or chocolate"

The magazine, American Museum, of 1787

Contains one of the first known mention of a julep. The drink is reported as being a "draught with which to start the day." Museum details the routine of Virginians, waking, and prior to starting their day, swallowing a julep made of rum, water, and sugar, "but very strong."

There was no mint in the julep at this point, there was not even ice.

Travels Of Four Years And A Half In The United States Of America, By John Davis, 1803

Mint Julep first appeared in print in 1803 described as a "dram of spirituous liquor that has mint in it, taken by Virginians in the morning." This is the first known reference to julep with mint added. First Mint Juleps weren't perhaps mixed with Bourbon, rather brandy or rum or other available spirits.

The Old Bachelor, By William Wirt, 1814

"A man in this line rises about six o'clock; " He then drinks a Julip, made of rum, water and sugar"

1816 - The Old White Tavern in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, later the Greenbrier Hotel, was famous for its mint juleps.

The oldest account book at the resort dates to 1816 and it reveals that guests were ordering "julips" at a cost of twenty-five cents or three for fifty cents.

Excerpt from John H. B. Latrobe and His Times, 1803-1891, by John Edward Semmes, Published by The Norman, Remington co., 1917, states that the 1832 journal of well-known Baltimore lawyer John H. B. Latrobe (1803-1891) wrote:

"I saw here for the first time a hailstorm, that is to say, a mint julep made with a hailstorm around it. The drink is manufactured pretty much as usual and well led with a quantity of ice chopped in small pieces, which is then put in the shape of a fillet around the outside of the tumbler where it adheres like a ring of rock candy and forms an external icy application to your lower lip as you drink it, while the ice within the glass presses against your upper lip. It is nectar, they say, in this part of the country."

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

"Put four or five stalks of unbruised mint into a tumbler, on them place a lump of ice; add brandy, water, and sugar."

The Rambler in North America, By Charles Joseph La Trobe, 1836

"As to the rest, it was agreed by the majority of the good people of Tallahassee, to go on drinking and stimulating with mint-julep, mint-sling, bitters,..."

A Diary in America, By Captain Frederick Marryat, an acquaintance of Charles Dickens, 1837, published 1839

"There are many varieties [of Mint Julep], such as those composed of Claret, Madiera, &c.; but the ingredients of the real mint-julep are as follows. I learnt how to make them, and succeeded pretty well. Put into a tumbler about a dozen sprigs of the tender shoots of mint, upon them put a spoonful of white sugar, and equal proportions of peach and common brandy, so as to fill it up one-third, or perhaps a little less. Then take rasped or pounded ice, and fill up the tumbler. Epicures rub the lips of the tumbler with a piece of fresh pine-apple, and the tumbler itself is very often incrusted outside with stalactites of ice. As the ice melts, you drink."

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine", 1841

"At Boston he learned to drink mint julep, which he pronounces one of the best gifts of providence, in such a hothouse climate as this. This preparation, of which we hear so perpetually in American tours, consists of layers of mint leaves placed among chipped ice, sprinkled over with two table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar, and a small glass of brandy to crown the whole. This is to be drunk as it becomes fluid, through the medium of a quill or a macaroni pipe. However, one peril of this beverage is, that the glass of brandy should be gradually increased to more. Those who tremble for their self-control, drink "sherry-cobblers." This the colonel interprets by "two glasses of very old sherry, substituted for the brandy.""

The Museum of Foreign Literature, Science and Art, by Robert Walsh, 1842

"This delicious compound (which is sometimes in the Southern and Western States denominated "hail storm") is usally made with wine, madiera or claret, mingled in a tumbler with a soupcon of French brandy, lime, or lemon, ice pulverised by attrition, and a small portion of sugar, the whole being crowned with a bunch of fresh mint, through which the liquor percolates before it reaches the drinker's lips and laps him in Elysium."

Echoes from the Backwoods, Or, Sketches of Transatlantic Life, 1846

"Mint-julep is thus concocted:- Fresh raw mint. Equal quantities of brandy and rum. Sugar, with rough ice planed quite thin. The tumbler filled up with water to the top. It is poured backward and forward into another tumbler till the whole is churned up."

Drayton: A Story of American Life, By Thomas H. Shreve, 1851

"Get a tumbler, fill it half full of brandy, put sugar and mint in it, and then fill it up with ice, for I'm famishing for a julep."

Travels in South and North America, By Alexander Marjoribanks, 1853

"Mint-julep is also much relished, and the following is a good receipt for making it: - ice and sugar as above; a wine glass of best brandy; half a wine glass of superior old rum; two or three unbruised sprigs of fresh mint put against the side of the tumbler; fill up with pounded ice until it forms a cone; crown it with a large strawberry; mix and drink it as sherry-cobbler." [Cobblers were drunk through a straw]

The household encyclopedia, 1856 - recipes for julep medicines

Juleps - A convenient form of medicines that require no decoction, and are mixed up with syrup or sugar, in order to dilute them properly, or to recover their pungency.

Cordial Julep.

Hints for the table: or, The economy of good living, By John Timbs, 1859

"Mint Julep is brandy-and-water, sweetened with pounded white sugar, in which are stuck leaves of fresh-gathered mint. Pounded or planed Wenham Lake Ice is put into the tumbler, and the drink is imbibed through a straw or glass tube. At American bars, the brandy-and-water is first put into a large silver or glass goblet, then the ice, planed or broken very small; pounded white sugar is then dashed over them with a tablespoon; the whole is violently shaken, or tossed from one goblet to another, and served up in a clean goblet; fresh mint is stuck in the ice, a piece of lemon peel hangs over the brim, and a straw is put into the glass."

Modern household cookery, By Sarah Josepha Hale, 1860

"MINT JULEP (AS AMERICAS RECEIPT). Strip the tender leaves of mint into a tumbler, and add to them as much wine, brandy, or any other spirit, as you wish to take. Put some pounded ice into a second tumbler; pour this on the mint and brandy, and continue to pour the mixture from one tumbler to the other until the whole is sufficiently impregnated with the flavour of the mint, which is extracted by the particles of the ice coming into brisk contact when changed from one vessel to the other. Now place the glass in a larger one, containing pounded ice: on taking it out of which it will be covered with frost-work."

Jerry Thomas, 1862

Take 1 table-spoonful of white pulverized sugar.
1/2 table-spoonfuls of water, mix well with a spoon.
1 1/2 wine-glass full of brandy.

Take three or four sprigs of fresh mint, and press them well in the sugar and water, until the flavor of the mint is extracted ; add the brandy, and fill the glass with fine shaved ice, then draw out the sprigs of mint and insert them in the ice with the stems downward, so that the leaves will be above, in the shape of a bouquet; arrange berries, and small pieces of sliced orange on top in a tasty manner, dash with Jamaica rum, and serve with a straw.

Whiskey Julep. (Use large bar-glass.) The whiskey julep is made the same as the mint julep, omitting all fruits and berries.

1865

Prior to the Civil War (1861-1865), brandy or whiskey was common in a Julep, but after the war and the poverty of the South, gave rise to the use of less expensive bourbon.

1875 - The Kentucky Derby

The racetracks' clubhouse began mixing mint juleps around 1875. The drink really became popular and became the track's signature libation in 1938 when the management began charging 75 cents for the drink and the small glass vessel it came in. Every year during Derby week at Churchill Downs, more than 80,000 mint juleps are served.