Kentucky Mint Julep

The mint julep is Kentucky's signature cocktail. Made with the world's finest bourbon (aged in charred oak barrels that contract and expand with the state's extreme seasonal temperatures) and blended with the pure, iron-free limestone water of the Bluegrass, it is a taste that no other place can duplicate or claim. As the official drink of the Kentucky Derby, the mint julep has become synonymous with civilized society and old-time southern hospitality.
Colonel Joe Nickell has spent years researching the julep - probing its history, gathering julep lore, and experimenting with variations on the "perfect" julep recipe. In The Kentucky Mint Julep, he brings together these bits of wisdom about the drink, from the meaning of the word "julep" to a description of Kentucky's famed Bourbon Trail. Along the way, Nickell reveals little-known anecdotes, including how arguments over the proper julep recipe may have caused the Civil War.