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Serves 4
For simple syrup:
2cups sugar
2cups water
For juleps:
4 16-ounce glasses, chilled
Ice
About 40 leaves fresh spearmint or peppermint, plus 4 sprigs for garnish
1cup bourbon
Prepare simple syrup: Combine sugar and water in saucepan. Set over high heat and stir occasionally just until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until cold. (The syrup can be made months in advance and stored in the refrigerator. As long as it remains clear, it is usable.)
Prepare mint juleps: Crush or shave the ice. You'll need about 8 cups. Finely shaved ice is ideal, but ice crushed small in a blender works fine, too. Hammers also work, if the ice is first put in a plastic bag wrapped with a towel and placed on something to cushion the kitchen counter, such as a cutting board.
Crush the mint. Old-fashioned recipes say to ``muddle'' (bruise) it in the bottom of the glass with a swizzle stick, but I feel that rolling up the leaves in groups of 8 to 10 and pounding them gently with a spatula handle or the back of a knife is more effective.
Fill 4 glasses with ice. Put 10 crushed mint leaves on top. Pour 1/4 cup bourbon into each glass, then fill with 1 cup simple syrup. Stir and add more ice if needed. Garnish with the mint sprigs. Straws are traditional and prevent the ice from smacking drinkers in the nose.
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