Why it works: Mint and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 32% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,592 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Westmoreland Club Mint Julep
Ingredients
Directions
Crush part of the mint with the crushed ice and sugar in a glass.
Add whiskey to the mixture.
Place the remaining mint in the glass with more crushed ice.
Enjoy your drink and be glad you are living.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Mint + sugartop 32% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,592 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fresh mint
- Crushing releases the leaves' aromatic oils, giving the julep its characteristic minty aroma.
- Crushed ice
- Chills the drink and melts slowly, adding dilution that softens the whiskey's strength.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the whiskey and helps draw flavor from the crushed mint.
- Whiskey
- Forms the spirit base, supplying the alcohol, body and oaky aroma of the drink.
The step that matters
Crush the mint gently. Pressing the leaves lightly releases their fragrant oils. Heavy bruising breaks down more plant tissue and releases bitter compounds, which spoil the drink's fresh, sweet mint character.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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