Name: Kentucky Mint Julep
Ingredients: 1 lump of sugar; a little water; 2 sprigs of mint; finely crushed ice; 1½ ounces Bourbon whiskey; a good size bunch of mint for garnish; slice of orange; seasonal fruit (such as pineapple, strawberries, cherries)

Why it works: Orange and pineapple are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,664 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓

Kentucky Mint Julep

Ingredients

Directions

Combine sugar and water in a tumbler. Stir until dissolved.
Add the mint sprigs.
Fill the tumbler with finely crushed ice.
Pour bourbon whiskey into the tumbler. Stir well.
Garnish with a bunch of mint, a slice of orange, and seasonal fruit.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Orange + pineappletop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,664 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Mint + pineappletop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together182 recipes

Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
Mint + orangetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together549 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Sugar + pineappletop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,841 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together19,212 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and orange barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,212 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Bourbon whiskey: Provides the main spirit flavour and alcohol that defines the drink.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps balance the strong bourbon.
Mint: Adds aroma and fresh herbal flavour to the drink.
Crushed ice: Chills and slightly dilutes the drink while it is stirred.