Brooks Grain

And for those over 21 Years of Age – The best whiskey cocktail recipes of all time.

If you want to learn about the finest art, you talk to artists. If you want to find out about the most beautiful music, you talk to musicians. If you want to find the best whiskey cocktail recipes, you talk to distillers. Distillers are the people who make the whiskey from scratch. These are the experts, the people who know the product intimately because they have been consumed by it’s creation and the pursuit of it’s perfection for years, sometimes for decades.

At Brooks Grain, we happen to know a distiller or two. From them, we have compiled the best drink recipes in the world. They have come directly from the people responsible for making any cocktail’s most important ingredient: booze. We’ve scoured our contacts. We have beaten down doors and rung phones off the hook all for you – for the best recipes from the best artists.

Because new whiskey and cocktail recipes are born every day, this list will never be complete. If you’ve discovered a recipe that should be added, drop us a note below. After all, one can never have too many great cocktail recipes.

Mint Julep

All, Classic, Fall | | Return|

mint-julep-image

Ingredients:

4 cups bourbon
2 bunches fresh spearmint
1 cup distilled water
1 cup granulated sugar
Powdered sugar

Directions:

To prepare mint extract, remove about 40 small mint leaves. Wash and place in a small bowl. Cover with 3 ounces bourbon. Allow the leaves to soak for 15 minutes. Then gather the leaves in paper toweling. Thoroughly wring the mint over the bowl of whisky. Dip the bundle again and repeat the process several times.

To prepare simple syrup, mix 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 cup of distilled water in a small saucepan. Heat to dissolve sugar. Stir constantly so the sugar does not burn. Set aside to cool.

To prepare mint julep mixture, pour 3 1/2 cups of bourbon into a large glass bowl or glass pitcher. Add 1 cup of the simple syrup to the bourbon.

Now begin adding the mint extract 1 tablespoon at a time to the julep mixture. Each batch of mint extract is different, so you must taste and smell after each tablespoon is added. You are looking for a soft mint aroma and taste-generally about 3 tablespoons. When you think it’s right, pour the whole mixture back into the empty liter bottle and refrigerate it for at least 24 hours to “marry” the flavors.

To serve the julep, fill each glass (preferably a silver mint julep cup) 1/2 full with shaved ice. Insert a spring of mint and then pack in more ice to about 1-inch over the top of the cup. Then, insert a straw that has been cut to 1-inch above the top of the cup so the nose is forced close to the mint when sipping the julep.

When frost forms on the cup, pour the refrigerated julep mixture over the ice and add a sprinkle of powdered sugar to the top of the ice.

Serve immediately.