Quick service tip before the story: the full ingredient list is right here, ready to order. Here's how this cocktail came to be.
The Mint Julep has roots that go back to 1700s colonial America, when Virginia farmers drank it as a morning medicinal. The word "julep" comes from the Persian "gulab" meaning rose water, and originally referred to any sweet medicinal syrup. Over time the julep became a symbol of the American South and, with the arrival of Kentucky bourbon, evolved into its definitive form.
The Julep's consecration came in 1938, when it was officially declared the ceremonial cocktail of the Kentucky Derby. Every year, on the first Saturday of May, roughly 120,000 Mint Juleps are served at Churchill Downs, traditionally in pewter or silver cups that maintain their frosty coldness. A cocktail that is as much a horse-racing ritual as it is a drink.
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