Mint Julep

"Juleps" have likely been around for a couple of centuries in one form or another, but the "Mint Julep" drink known to us for more than one hundred years is made with bourbon whiskey, a beverage strongly tied to the state of Kentucky. No question the name of the whiskey traces back to the former ruling family of France, the Bourbons, whose King Louis XVI provided aid to the American colonies in their fight for independence from Britain. The likely direct source of the name for the whiskey is Bourbon County, Kentucky, itself named for the French family. "Mint Juleps" have long been served at the famous "Kentucky Derby" horse race held at Churchill Downs in the city of Louisville, named after Louis XVI. "Mint Juleps" are often served in metal cups, where they are filled with lots of ice (usually crushed ice) and allowed to sit until the cup is well chilled or frosted before serving.    

Ingredients (per drink):

2 ounces bourbon
1 teaspoon sugar (or simple syrup*)
6 to 8 mint leaves (not tiny leaves)
ice
optional: bitters
sprig of mint for garnish

Gently rub the mint leaves together between your hands (this begins to release the mint flavor). Add the leaves to a cocktail glass, then add the sugar and bourbon (and a couple of drops of bitters, if you'd like). Mix to dissolve the sugar, then add lots of ice cubes or crushed ice. Naturally, if you use simple syrup, you needn't worry about dissolving the sugar. Let the drink sit for a couple of minutes until well chilled from the ice.  

* Simple syrup is often used to sweeten drinks in place of actually using dry sugar, which may not always dissolve completely. To make simple syrup: use one part sugar (1/2 cup, for example) mixed into an equal amount of water (1/2 cup) in a pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and let the syrup cool before using.   

WORD HISTORY:
Julep-While the use of this word is relatively modern, the origin of this compound word is truly ancient. The first part of the word is distantly related to "rose," a word borrowed from Latin.^ The ultimate origin of the first part is uncertain, but it seems to trace back to Old Iranian "urda,"^^ meaning "flower" and "rose" (the flowering plant). This later gave transliterated Persian, another Indo European language, "gul" (rose). The second part of "julep" goes back to Indo European "ap/ep," which was another term for "water," often with the underlying meaning, "source of water" in some Indo European languages, words derived from it in several languages mean, "river," "channel or ditch for irrigation," "spring," "stream." This gave Persian "ap" (water), which was coupled in Persian with the above word "gul," as "gulab," meaning, "rosewater" (made by soaking rose petals in water), and the term was borrowed by Arabic as transliterated "julab," which was borrowed by Latin as "julapium" (rosewater, drink used for stomach ailments) and this passed to Old French as "julep," with the same meanings. English borrowed the word circa 1400 meaning, "sweet drink used as medicine, or used to make other medicines palatable." By the late 1700s the term was being used by some Americans for "a sweet alcoholic beverage (then usually made with rum or brandy) and herbs."  

^ "Rose" is a word with a complex history. While English borrowed it from Latin ("perhaps" from Christian monks or other religious personnel?), it is NOT a Latin-derived word, but rather a borrowing by Latin.

^^ Old Iranian was an Indo European language.