Mint Julep

Stir until the cup frosts. That is the finishing instruction for the International Bartenders Association’s Mint Julep: bourbon whiskey, fresh mint, sugar and water, chilled with cracked ice.[8] Its 60 ml (about 2 fl oz) of bourbon gives the modern classic its backbone, but the drink’s history stretches beyond Kentucky and bourbon. Early American accounts describe rum juleps; nineteenth century recipe books include brandy versions.[4][5]

Making a mint julep

The International Bartenders Association lists the Mint Julep among its Contemporary Classics. Its four ingredients make a straightforward drink, with the method set out below.[8]

Recipe card: the IBA version

Source: International Bartenders Association, Mint Julep. Attributed recipe; not tested by this site.[8]

Serves: one
Vessel: stainless steel julep cup
Ice: cracked ice
Garnish: fresh mint
Origin: The drink’s inventor is not established.

1. Put the mint, sugar and water into the julep cup.
2. Gently muddle, or press, the mint with the sugar and water.
3. Fill the cup with cracked ice and add the bourbon.
4. Stir well until the cup frosts, then garnish with mint.[8]

Measure the bourbon rather than pouring freely. Water, food and breaks are useful, and nobody needs to finish the serving, but they do not remove alcohol risks. People who are pregnant or trying to conceive, taking medicines that interact with alcohol, living with conditions made worse by alcohol or recovering from alcohol dependence should not drink. See the Responsible Drinking page for further guidance.

Gentle muddling means pressing, not vigorous crushing. The ice also distinguishes published versions: the IBA calls for cracked ice, while Difford’s Guide uses crushed ice. Follow the specification of the recipe chosen.[8][2]

Another published approach

Difford’s recipe takes a different route: 12 mint leaves, bourbon, rich sugar syrup and two dashes of Angostura bitters, served over crushed ice. The bitters belong to that version; they are not an omission from the IBA recipe.[2]

Bourbon whiskey is the appropriate category for this recipe, with no particular brand required. It supplies the base in the IBA specification and is the style associated with the Kentucky Derby’s julep tradition.[8][9] For other whisky-based recipes, start with the whisky cocktails guide.

Origin: the word before the cocktail

The word “julep” arrived long before the familiar iced cocktail. Etymonline traces it through Old French and Medieval Latin to Arabic julab and Persian gulab, meaning a sweet drink or rose water.[1]

From the late fourteenth century, English speakers used “julep” for a syrupy drink used to administer medicine. Etymonline dates the mint-flavoured, sugared alcoholic sense to 1761, originally in a medical recipe called julepum menthae.[1] This is the word’s history, not evidence that the modern bourbon recipe already existed.

Story box: a Virginia julep in print

A julep on getting out of bed: that is the scene in John Davis’s Travels of Four Years and a Half in the United States of America. Published in London in 1803, the book covers his travels from 1798 to 1802 and offers an early record of the drink, rather than an account of its invention.[3]

In the main text, a character calls for the drink. A footnote in the consulted 1909 reprint defines it as “A dram of spirituous liquor that has mint in it, taken by Virginians of a morning”.[3]

Claim and verdict: Documented. In Davis’s Virginia account, a character dates his love of whiskey to mixing his young master’s morning juleps.[3]

The passage places the julep in Davis’s account without identifying its inventor. The quotation above comes from the 1909 reprint; the exact footnote wording in the 1803 first edition was not established.

Source and claim mapping: The earliest known source for this account is Davis, 1803, consulted through the 1909 Henry Holt reprint. Publication details, narrative and quoted definition are in the digitised 1909 reprint.

Last checked: November 2026; exact day not verified.

An earlier American reference takes the record back to 1787. Reported by Virginia Living, it appeared in American Museum and described a Virginian drinking a “julap” of rum, water and sugar.[4] Virginia is central to these early American accounts, though neither supplies a single inventor.

Before bourbon became the usual base

Cognac, berries, orange and a dash of Jamaica rum: Jerry Thomas’s 1862 Mint Julep is a more elaborate drink than today’s IBA version. Recipe No. 88 in The Bar-Tenders’ Guide combines those ingredients with sugar, water, mint and shaved ice.[5]

Thomas also gives a Whiskey Julep, made in the same way. Whiskey was an established option in that book, alongside other spirits.[5]

The book quotes Captain Frederick Marryat’s recipe, too: peach and common brandy with mint, white sugar and rasped or pounded ice. Difford’s dates Marryat’s account in Diary in America to 1839.[5][2] Both recipes offer a richer array of ingredients than the IBA’s bourbon, mint, sugar and water.

The people who made juleps are part of that history. Virginia Living identifies John Dabney, born enslaved in Hanover County, Virginia, around 1824, as a caterer and bartender celebrated for his juleps.[4]

According to the same account, Dabney’s recipe appeared in The New Lucile Cook Book in 1906, six years after his death. Packed crushed ice, sugar, bruised mint and whiskey formed its core, with fruit and other additions optional.[4] Difford’s says whiskey had become the preferred julep base by 1900.[2]

The Kentucky Derby connection

Claim and verdict: Disputed. Published accounts disagree on the precise year the Mint Julep became the Kentucky Derby’s official drink.

Difford’s Guide and Virginia Living give 1938; CNN gives 1939; Churchill Downs gives the 1930s.[2][4][12][9] The exact year remains unresolved, and the earliest source for the competing dates was not established from the sources checked.

Last checked: November 2026; the exact day is not verified.

The Derby association explains why Kentucky bourbon and the julep cup feature so prominently in descriptions of the cocktail. Churchill Downs’s history connects the drink with souvenir cups, while the IBA specifies a stainless steel cup.[9][8] Silver belongs to the Derby imagery, but a silver vessel is not required by the IBA recipe.

Two common mistakes

“It was always a bourbon drink.” Bourbon’s modern prominence can overshadow the earlier recipes. The reported 1787 reference describes a rum julep; Thomas’s 1862 Mint Julep calls for Cognac and a dash of Jamaica rum.[4][5]

“It was invented in Kentucky.” The Derby connection is powerful, but the early American references discussed here lead to Virginia. Neither Davis’s account nor the earlier magazine reference establishes a Kentucky invention.[3][4]

Where to go next

• Whisky Cocktails: The Complete Guide: explore the wider guide to whisky-based mixed drinks.
• Old Fashioned: discover another classic built around whiskey and sugar.
• Whiskey Sour: follow a different cocktail recipe.

Sources

[1] Etymonline. Julep: Etymology, Origin and Meaning. Online entry, publication date not stated; checked November 2026. https://www.etymonline.com/word/julep

[2] Difford’s Guide. Mint Julep cocktail recipe and history. Online edition, publication date not stated; checked November 2026. https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/1330/mint-julep

[3] John Davis. Travels of Four Years and a Half in the United States of America. Originally published 1803; Henry Holt reprint, 1909. University of Toronto copy, Internet Archive. https://archive.org/stream/travelsoffouryea00daviuoft/travelsoffouryea00daviuoft_djvu.txt

[4] Virginia Living. All Dressed Up, and the Drink is the Show. Online edition, publication date not stated; checked November 2026. https://virginialiving.com/food/recipes/mint-juleps/

[5] Jerry Thomas. The Bar-Tenders’ Guide. 1862 edition. Duke University Libraries copy, Internet Archive. https://archive.org/stream/bartendersguide01thom/bartendersguide01thom_djvu.txt

[8] International Bartenders Association. Mint Julep. Online specification, publication date not stated; checked November 2026. https://iba-world.com/iba-cocktail/mint-julep/

[9] Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs. Mint Julep. Organiser’s own account, online edition, publication date not stated; checked November 2026. https://www.kentuckyderby.com/living-traditions/mint-julep

[12] CNN Travel. Mint julep: The origins of the Derby's official drink. Online edition, publication date not stated; checked November 2026. https://www.cnn.com/travel/mint-julep-history-drink-kentucky-derby-intl

This desk-researched article uses the supplied verified fact sheet, distinguishing digitised historical texts, modern cocktail specifications, trade reporting and Churchill Downs’s own account.

Last checked: November 2026