Why it works: Mint and sherry work together. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 83 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
Mint Julep
Ingredients
Directions
Build the drink
Place the mint in a tumbler half full of sherry.
In a second tumbler, add pounded ice.
Pour the mint and sherry mixture over the ice.
Chill and frost
Rapidly transfer the mixture between the two tumblers for 1-2 minutes until frosty particles form on top.
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.
-
Mint + sherrytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together83 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fresh mint
- Adds aroma and fresh flavor from its aromatic oils infusing into the sherry.
- Sherry
- Provides the main liquid, adding flavor, mild sweetness and body to the drink.
- Pounded ice
- Chills the drink quickly and slightly dilutes it as it melts.
The step that matters
Rapidly transferring the mixture between tumblers. Pouring quickly and repeatedly chills the liquid fast and aerates it, so frosty ice particles form on top. Slow or brief pouring leaves the drink warmer and less frosted.
“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.
More mint julep recipes
You might also like
Vegetable Soup350 recipes
Raspberry Vinegar214 recipes
Brown Coffee with Egg175 recipes
Blackberry Cordial129 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.