Running and Mint Juleps

Last night I managed to get away from work before the rain came. I managed 2.5 miles, with minimal issue. It was a pretty non-eventful run, but I did frighten a groundhog. (Felt a little bad about that. :( )

Today my knee feels a bit tender, but I've been very very lax on doing my leg exercises. Need to get on that. In the end though, I'm definitely feeling better about this ITB, and I'm glad.


And, without further ado, I bring us to today's Alcohol Tuesday entry, the mint julep! It would have been ideal to do this the Tuesday before the Kentucky Derby, but alas, I was out of town. So, after all 3 legs of the triple crown are over, I bring you this entry. Better late than never!

The mint julep is a drink that really isn't that complicated to prepare, yet people are afraid of it. Don't be. I bring you instructions, complete with pictures, to make a killer drink.

Here's what is needed:



We need fresh mint, some extra fine granulated sugar, a little bit of water, ice, and some Kentucky bourbon whiskey. In addition, you'll need either a muddler or a spoon, a cup or glass, and optionally a measuring device such as a jigger.

The cup I use is an old-school traditional mint julep cup. It's pewter. As a side effect (one that is desired), the cup frosts up as it gets cold, due to the ice. If you go to Churchill Downs, you'll get a mint julep in a Collins style glass, just a taller and more narrow glass. Anything works, of course.

As far as bourbon goes, you'll want a Kentucky style, to be authentic. I'll typically opt for Knob Creek or Maker's Mark. Try to stay away from something really dirt cheap.


(One more side note.. You may note the mallet in the picture above. It will come in to play, but may not be necessary for you.. )



First up, take a teaspoon of sugar, and put it in your cup/glass. Then, follow that up with a teaspoon of water, enough to dissolve the sugar. This is the part of the recipe that is "to taste". If you want it sweeter, add a bit more.. less sweet, add less, of course.

You could use something like simple syrup if you have some on hand.



Next up, pull out 4 to 6 mint leaves. Put them into the sugar water, and gently muddle them. You only want to bruise the leaves, not crush them. Bruising the leaves will release some of the oil in the mint.. If you wind up crushing them, you'll pick up some extra flavors that are not becoming to the drink. You can use a muddler for this if you have one, or I just use the back of a spoon.

Stir the bruised leaves around in the sugar-water solution and let them sit for a few minutes, letting the flavor seep out.



Next up is the ice. You're going to want to use crushed ice for this drink. While I absolutely love my fridge, the one thing it can't do is make crushed ice. Hence, the need for a mallet.

After banging away on the counter for a bit, you'll be left with some crushed ice:



Crude, but effective.



OK. So you fill your cup with the crushed ice. Pour a jigger (1.5 to 2 ounces) of bourbon in the cup. You'll note that this settles and melts the ice a bit. You'll want to top the cup with some more ice.

Finish this off by retopping the cup with bourbon, garnish with a sprig of mint, and you're good to go!




That spoon I included in my julep is peer with my cup. It actually serves as both a straw and a spoon, as the handle is hollow. Really killer. So you can sip, stir, and have something fun, all in one. :)

Alright everyone, that's all for today.. Enjoy responsibly, and keep on rockin'!

Weekend Libations

On a wedding weekend with a couple of open bars, I had a few tasty beverages.

I started with 'some sort of good scotch, neat'. The waitress brought back the request in an appropriate sniffer glass. No idea what brand it was, but it was nice. Not very smoky, though.

I also had a 'Grand Martini', which was a vodka martini with Grand Marnier. Not bad at all. Unsure as to the type of vodka. It was smooth, though.

That was all at the "classy" joint.

The next day, we went to the "not as classy" joint, so finding neat things like that just doesn't happen. However, I was able to make do.

I sampled "Duggan's Dew" scotch, which is a blended scotch. It's similar to Dewar's. Not a bad buy for the money, which would fit in the way this joint would roll. Never had it before, so that was neat.

I also had a number of 7&7s, vodka&7s, etc. Nothing too noteworthy, though.

To throw you off, here's something new:



A Montecristo cigar. I'm not sure what size it is.. I'm guessing a No. 1. I'm not really a cigar smoker, so I don't know too much about them. (The last cigar I had was probably 10-12 years ago).

Anyway, the cigar was smooth. I couldn't really tell you what sort of flavor it had. Tasted like a cigar. Must be how my wife views beer. Hah. One of the best cigars I had in my life, though. (Again, not that I have had many).

On Sunday, I had this:



This is Wolaver's (Otter Creek) "Will Stevens' Pumpkin Ale".

The Wolaver beers are all organic. Kind of an interesting twist on beer. Both the 'Otter Creek' and 'Wolaver' brand are very good. They are typically very drinkable microbrews.

This pumpkin ale was very tasty. There's a medium head on it which disappeared fairly quickly. There was a clean pumpkin flavor. Really, the taste was like pumpkin pie. The beer also had an 'organic' taste to it. Almost like you knew you were getting nothing non-natural from the beverage. It's not an overpowering beer.. so, if you're in the mood for a beer-beer, this probably isn't right. If you want to mix it up, this is where it's at.

Scotch & Beer

Over the weekend, I tried a couple of new beverages.

First off was Macallan 12 year scotch. Of all the scotches I've tried, this was probably my least favorite. It reminded me more of Hennessy VS cognac than anything. Not that it was bad, mind you. It had a very smooth finish.. The initial taste was harsher than I expected. I think I prefer scotches with a stronger smoke essence to them, as well. It's generally rated well, so it may have been an off-day on my part.


The other new beverage I tried was Blue Point's 'Hoptical Illusion'. I was at a pub and saw that you could try a bottle for a mere $3. I gave it a go, and it was an excellent IPA. Very hoppy. The color was darker than I expected, there might have been a caramel taste in there. Very nice, though.

Highland Park

Last night, I went and bought something I've never purchased before... a bottle of single malt scotch.


I asked a guy here at work for some recommendations, and have scoured the Internet for recommendations.

What I came up with was this:


Highland Park 12 year..


Before I go into my tasting review, let me disclose my prior scotch interactions. I've had a few blends here and there over the years.. nothing I can really remember, mainly because I wasn't paying attention at the time.

Since then, I've had 2 other single malts..

The first was Glenmorangie Port Wood finish. I had this at my wife's company Christmas party a few years ago. The host was kind enough to bring out a bottle of it. Poor guy.. He had a glass, and then a friend and I polished off the rest.
What I remember about it was that it was very very smooth, and I really enjoyed it.
And, I was really really drunk afterwards.

The second was Lagavulin 16 year.. I had this at a local upscale restaurant. It had a very smoky nose to it.. I enjoyed this as well.


Since having these, I've read that they aren't good starter scotches. Oops.

I'd prefer to try these things at a local bar, but the only bars in the area are either the T.G.I. Friday's type, or the local "old man" bars. I frequent both, but neither is good for finding scotch.
The upscale restaurants will have scotch, but one of them charges $17 for a single of Lagavulin. If I can go buy a bottle at $60 or something, it's almost more effective to just do that.

So, I went to go buy a bottle.. I won't get as much variety, not being able to buy single glasses, but hey.. nothing ventured, nothing gained.


You see my tasting glass there.. Not an official scotch tulip style glass or anything, but I can get my nose in there.


On to the scotch. This Highland Park is... straight forward. It's a good scotch.. good for beginners, certainly. I know I'm a beginner, and I can't really comment as well as a pro can.

The Highland Park is slightly smoky, not as much as the Lagavulin by any means. It's fairly smooth. Got a nice caramel looking color to it. I didn't add any water to it.. I figured I'd try that on the next tasting. Adding water can "open up" the taste and aromas, and you can notice new things, by doing that.

Not a bad first purchase, but I'll probably try a different scotch once this bottle is gone, just for variety's sake.