This month's cocktail is inspired by a little horse race coming up at the end of this week... When we began brainstorming our Year of Cocktails, May was one of the months that we instantly had a plan for - and the same plan no less (which is saying something for the two of us). When you live in the south, there are few things as iconic as the Kentucky Derby and the connected pageantry. Everyone pictures the fabulously dressed women, Derby hats perched atop their heads, and of course they have mint juleps in their hands. If you ever wondered why juleps are served in little silver cups, if you are hosting a Derby Party and are unsure of intricacies of this classic drink, or if you are a history and science nerd like me - this is the blog post for you!
Although written references to juleps exist prior to the 1875 advent of the Derby, due to excellent marketing and branding the two are forever linked in the minds of most Americans. The first references to juleps at the Derby appear in 1938, which makes sense as Prohibition ended in 1933 and America was emerging from the throes of the Great Depression in the late 1930's. Americans were ready to get out and have a good time, forget about their problems for a while, and enjoy an drink that symbolized wealth and stature. The julep's history made it a perfect fit - in the days before home refrigerators, even having the available ice to make the drink was a sign of wealth. Combining that with the requisite silver cup, and the staff to make such a labor intensive drink was surely a sign of a very affluent family; and the additional bonus of being made with local Kentucky bourbon made it the perfect signature drink for an event that was fast becoming a symbol of wealth, history and class in the American South.
We had our silver cup, we had ice, bourbon, sugar and mint - we thought we were ready to whip up the perfect mint julep. I am here to tell you - the recipe for a julep looks deceptively simple! We even had an official mint muddling stick! We muddled our mint (basically smashing the mint leaves to release the flavors), we put in the ice and the other ingredients and we stirred... then waited for that classic super-frosted cup. Nothing! A little bit of condensation perhaps, but no super cool frosted julep glass. We went back to the trusty internet, pulled up all the recipes we could find and looked for something we had missed. Some recipes called for a splash of water, in addition to the standard ingredients - surely this little splash of water couldn't make the difference we thought? 
But we had nothing to lose, so we gave it a try. Amazingly, we added the water, stirred vigorously, and behold - the glass iced, instantly and dramatically! If you are just interested in having the perfect julep, you can stop reading here, skip to the recipe at the bottom, and enjoy your fabulously iced silver cup (you're welcome....). However, if you are like Christine and I and need to know WHY this works, read the next paragraph. We were fascinated.... 
Full disclosure, as I write this, I am a science/ math nerd, but I tend much more towards the life sciences - thermodynamics was never my strong suit, so this is totally my lay person's understanding of the information... We figured that there must have been some sort of chemical reaction going on, so we started by hitting up the research chemists and engineers in our immediate social circle. Despite the fact that they all thought that we were crazy - because who really calls someone out of the blue to ask about drink glasses that "magically" frost - we hit on the phrase "heat of enthalpy". Then we were off to the races, so to speak. A google search and some reading later, we had it figured out (sort of)! The simple syrup (sugar supersaturated in hot water), the bourbon and the ice are a closed system with a defined amount of energy. When you add a splash of water and stir, as I understand it, several things happen simultaneously. The freezing point of the ice/water combination is lowered, due to the alcohol in the bourbon, this results in a melting of some quantity of the ice in order to reach a state of equilibrium, In addition, the dropping temperature changes the solubility of the sugar in the simple syrup - just as you had to heat the water in order to dissolve that much sugar, the cooling of the solution causes some of the sugar to recrystallize. Both of these things - the melting and the recrystallizing - use energy that removes heat from the closed system. As the system loses heat, it chills the glass so severely that any moisture in the air (that would normally form condensation on the glass) actually freezes. To create the ideal situation for a perfectly frosted julep cup, you need the following....
1. A good recipe
2. A full cup of ice so that the temperature balance works correctly
3. A vigorous stir
4. A real silver cup - as silver is the best substance for conducting heat and cold
5, A good dose of Southern humidity in the air to provide enough water vapor to freeze
Because we are a bit artsy and creative (and have young daughters), in addition to being nerds, we took our new-found knowledge one step further.... If the freezing effect of the julep cup is caused by agitation in the system drawing the heat, it's the only natural explanation for the mysterious powers of everyone's current favorite Disney princess! If you have "Frozen" fans in your house, and have seen the movie as many times as we have, you will remember that Princess Elsa's ice "powers" grow and spin out of control whenever she is becomes overly upset/angry/scared etc. As her emotions swirl and her feelings build in intensity they seem to draw the energy from the environment - setting off an eternal winter in Arendelle. So as an added bonus to our cool drink experiment, we solved a Disney mystery as well!
We hope that you have enjoyed learning from our experiences and that you will drink a fabulous julep as you cheer your favorite horse to victory in the Derby this weekend!
RECIPE
- Place the leaves from 4-5 springs of mint and 1/2 oz simple syrup into a julep cup
- Muddle well to release the oil and aroma of the mint.
- Add 2.5 oz of your favorite bourbon.
- Fill with crushed ice, add a splash of water, and stir well until the glass becomes frosty.
- Garnish with the mint sprig.
Cheers!
Stacy and Christine
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