Comments (3)

1. 

   anonymous

   June 29, 2008

   I’m new to the site, so forgive me if this has come up before. Has the subject of basil come up for a substitute for mint–that is, a basil julep? I can’t remember whether I heard about it from someone in the business or just used what was available, but the basil sure does satisfy. Have you heard about this? And please forgive the implication of heresy; my family is from Kentucky.
2. 

   runoknows

   June 30, 2008

   Honestly, that’s not something I’ve tried before.

   That being said, I could swear there’s a basil type julep in the Food & Wine Cocktails 2008 book somewhere, but I don’t have it on me so I’ll have to check it when I get home.

   I wouldn’t think of swapping them personally, because basil isn’t something I use a lot of except in Italian food. But it’s a fascinating idea. It might be worth experimenting with…

   I bet Marshall would have some good ideas on that…
3. 

   tmfiii

   June 30, 2008

   Hmmm . . .interesting. Like Sean, I don’t think I would think of swapping out the mint for basil in a julep. It certainly sounds like a combination that would work, and be quite tasty, but I would hesitate to call it a “julep.”

   Just working on memory here, so please forgive me if I’m getting confused, but if I remember the portion from “Imbibe” by David Wondrich correctly, the “julep” is a specific style of cocktail. It consists of a spirit, crushed ice, sugar and mint. You could have a gin julep, brandy julep, whisky julep, etc, etc. Juleps, as a style, followed after the more popular “Smash” where the mint was smashed prior to shaking or smashed during the shaking process. I’m fuzzy on the transition from “Smash” to “Julep” and the differences between them (it could be something as simple as the julep being served over copious amounts of crushed ice. . . )

   Anyhoo, in short, I think that basil used in the style of a julep would be tasty I don’t think it can be called a julep per se.

   Cheers!
   Marshall