June 2023
by a gentleman possessing a true sense of the artistic, a deep reverence for the ingredients and a proper appreciation of the occasion. It is a rite that must not be entrusted to a novice, a statistician, nor a Yankee. It is a heritage of the Old South, and emblem of hospitality, and a vehicle in which noble minds can travel together upon the flowerstrewn paths of a happy and congenial thought.”
To a gentleman of the 1860s, recipes appear to be unnecessary in the realm of the ceremonial mixing of proper mint juleps. After all, do we really need a recipe for everything? The Kentucky Housewife (1839) by Letice Bryan contains a recipe for buttering bread. It stipulates that the bread should be cut from the loaf before it is buttered. One would think that antebellum cooks who were old enough to read a cookbook would know how to spread butter on a piece of bread. This is just my opinion, of course.
On the other hand, with alcohol consumption about three times higher in the 1860s than modern norms, we appear to have lost touch with the finer points of
the drink mixing rituals of the 1860s. It would be remiss not to provide a recipe for a period correct mint julep. Here is one from Bon-Vivant’s Companion by Jerry Thomas, which dates back to 1862.
Dissolve one tablespoon of white pulverized sugar in two and one-half tablespoons of water.
Take two sprigs of fresh mint and press them well in the sugar and water, until the flavor of mint is extracted. Add one wine glass of cognac brandy, and fill the glass with fine shaved ice, then draw out the sprigs of mint and insert them in the ice with the stems downward, so that the leaves will be above, in the shape of a bouquet. Dash with Jamaican rum, and sprinkle white sugar on top. Place a straw across the top of the glass, and there is your mint julep.
If that seems too complicated, here is a simpler receipt called The Civil War News mint julep. It is also in the spirit of the times. Mint Julep No. 1 3/4 to 1 cup brandy or cognac 1/2 tsp. rum 2 and 1/2 tbs. water 1 tbs. sugar Several fresh mint leaves
The only stipulation is that it requires two separate glasses for mixing the four ingredients. Put a double shot of the best Kentucky bourbon in one glass and masticate a sprig of spearmint with shaved ice and sugar in the other. Throw out the glass with the mint mixture and drink the bourbon.
Craig L. Barry was born in Charlottesville, Va. He holds his BA and Masters degrees from UNC (Charlotte). Craig served The Watchdog Civil War Quarterly as Associate Editor and Editor from 2003–2017. The Watchdog published books and columns on 19th-century material and donated all funds from publications to battlefield preservation. He is the author of several books including
Buying and Selling
The Civil War Musket: A Handbook
The Finest in
for Historical Accuracy (2006, 2011), The Unfinished Fight: Essays on
Americana
Confederate Material Culture Vol. I and II (2012, 2013). He has also published four books in the Suppliers to the Confederacy series on English Arms & Accoutrements, Quartermaster stores and other European imports.
