from Alex's (thanks!) bourbon link, some hints to the history of the fabled "Mint Julep":
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The dream of drinks? You could have guessed that Kentuckians would find a way to combine their two greatest great passions— horse racing and bourbon. The Mint Julep, a concoction of bourbon, sugar and mint on crushed ice, is traditionally drunk at Kentucky Derbytime.
Although the julep didn't originate in Kentucky— several Southern states lay claim to its invention— its connection to the Bluegrass and the Derby secured the drink's place in posterity. "The zenith of man's pleasure... who has not tasted one has lived in vain," Lexington journalist and attorney J. Soule Smith waxed poetic in a sentimental 19th-century recipe. Not all Kentuckians are in agreement on the merits of the julep, however; famous Louisville newspaper publisher Henry Marse Watterson's classic recipe concludes an elaborate description of preparation with instructions to "toss all the other ingredients out the window and drink the bourbon straight."
You can try a mint julep, especially at Derbytime, in many Lexington bars. Area liquor stores carry a variety of pre-mixed versions.
The julep even has its own special cup. You'll find silver antique julep cups in Bluegrass antique shops (and less expensive new pewter ones in jewelry and other shops).<
Well, I reckon there oughtta be a few good Southern yarns out there about this one? Jackie?...Dub-Dub?...AnnaS?... Alex?...Chemeng?...milum? (dare I ask!
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And I drank Bourbon on Bourbon Street!
At Mardi Gras!...back in '80.
