Cocktail Juleps

Sydney Morning Herald

Wednesday June 30, 2004

Words: Pat Nourse

If the mark of a great cocktail is the number of arguments it can provoke and the number of unbreakable rules it generates, "the mint julep may be America's pre-eminent classic, edging out the martini in a photo finish". So says David A. Embury, cocktail authority and former restaurant critic for The New York Times, who has "some 30 or 40 different recipes for juleps, some good, some bad, some indifferent".

Ideally, a dozen mint leaves are gently muddled in a tablespoon of simple syrup with maybe a dash of bitters. At least two measures of bourbon are stirred in, and then the mixture is strained into a long glass over ice and garnished with more mint. Some fly in the face of good southern tradition and float more bourbon on the top, arguing it makes for a better drink; frankly my dears, I couldn't give a damn.

Where to drink it

Ruby Rabbit

231 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst. Ph: 9326 0044

Definitely sliding more towards the club side of the nightlife spectrum, this naughty bunny still holds onto its cocktail cred - despite what you may have heard. The bouncer and queue aspect of Friday and Saturday nights is never appealing, and only half the bar staff at any given time appear to have much of a handle on what's going on. Happily, bartender Leeroy Peterson is a pretty switched-on sort of guy and, better yet, he has an active interest in the world of juleps. North American-born Peterson offers at least two that will be of interest to julep fanciers. The Alabama julep ($15.50) has pink grapefruit, limes and mint muddled with Canadian Club whiskey, watermelon liqueur and a touch of soda. The New Orleans variety ($15.50), meanwhile, is composed of Southern Comfort, peach liqueur, muddled oranges and mint, with a dash of Chambord just to keep things confusing.

Aki's

Shop 1, The Wharf Woolloomooloo, 6 Cowper Wharf Road, Woolloomooloo.

Ph: 9332 4600

Cranberry and bourbon. Not, at first glance, the most obvious coupling, but once it passes your lips it'll seem as natural as Scarlett and Rhett (in the good times, at least). Or at least as natural as a Kentucky cocktail served in a bar in an upmarket Indian restaurant in Woolloomooloo can seem. Though it's mildly disappointing that Indian flavours don't really find their way onto the cocktail list in the same way that, say, Thai tastes do at Longrain, the drinks here are made with real care nonetheless. The cranberry julep ($15) marries cranberry juice, Maker's Mark, brown sugar and fresh cranberries or raspberries.

Mars Lounge

16 Wentworth Avenue, Surry Hills. Ph: 9267 6440

If it weren't for the dry sugar, this would be the best straight julep we've had all month. And even then, the mix of tender mint, sugar and a goodly helping of Booker's bourbon ($14) stirred gently and methodically for a few minutes was still pretty close to the top of the heap. The left-of-centre Lounge has drifted from many a barfly's radar of late, but recent visits find it as languorously schmick as ever. The bar staff are on the friendly side of very professional and the drinks list is well worth a read.