Baptist Mint Julep

I was raised Southern Baptist. My PawPaw was a Southern Baptist preacher, my father a deacon, and all the women in the family were part of the WMU (Woman’s Missionary Union). If you were Baptist, you were taught not to drink, dance, cuss, smoke, or, heaven forbid, fornicate. However, it was hot in the South, and some of even God’s front-row best Baptists backslid on a number of those points, especially that last one. But it was perfectly acceptable to fellowship through food and make-believe cocktails. This recipe is certainly toned down from the bourbon, mint, and sugar in the original, but it is refreshing and fun to serve. This is a Johnston family recipe.

Mocktail Syrup

2 cups sugar

2½ cups water

¼ cup fresh mint leaves

1 (6-ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate

½ (6-ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate

To make the mocktail syrup, boil the sugar and water in a saucepan for 10 minutes. remove from the heat and add the mint leaves, allowing them to steep until the solution is cool. remove the mint leaves, squeezing the remainder of the liquid into the solution before disposing of them. Add the lemonade concentrate and orange juice concentrate and blend well. Store in a serving pitcher and refrigerate.

To make the drink, mix 1 cup of the mocktail syrup with 2 cups water and serve over ice in a tall glass.

Makes 8 mocktails