Mint Julep

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925

10 fresh mint leaves

1 teaspoon caster (superfine) sugar

Splash of water

2 oz. bourbon

1 sprig of fresh mint, for garnish

Place the mint leaves, sugar, and water in a Julep cup or highball glass and muddle.

Fill the glass with crushed ice, add the bourbon, and stir until chilled. Garnish with the sprig of mint and enjoy.

The notion originated with Daisy’s suggestion that we hire five bathrooms and take cold baths, and then assumed more tangible form as “a place to have a mint julep.” Each of us said over and over that it was a “crazy idea”—we all talked at once to a baffled clerk and thought, or pretended to think, that we were being very funny…

As Gatsby and his friends try to beat the heat on a particularly sweltering summer day, they find themselves at the Plaza Hotel, where Daisy suggests cold water immersion and Mint Juleps. The Mint Juleps seem a good idea, though the conversation becomes as heated as the weather before they can be enjoyed.

A classic hot weather cocktail, the Mint Julep is the traditional drink of the Kentucky Derby, a refreshing blend of bourbon, mint, sugar, and crushed ice that’s sure to take the heat out of any situation. Well, almost any.