The mint julep is perhaps the most iconic American cocktail, among a field of cocktails which are, by definition, American. The julep is the cocktail of the south, evoking images of horse-farms, warm summer breezes, and sipping cool beverages on a wide porch. The history of the julep dates back to the 1700s, when it was prescribed as a medicinal. This variant uses rye, not bourbon, and uses a brown sugar syrup, which to us has more flavor and is truer to the sugar that would have been found in colonial America.

[Part of the Art of the Cocktail series, season two.]

6 mint leaves, plus additional for garnish
½ oz brown sugar syrup
Crushed ice
2 oz Roundstone Rye

Muddle the mint in the bottom of the glass, add the syrup and whisky, stir, and add crushed ice and more garnish mint.

Recipe from Colonial Spirits by Stephen Grasse.