Pink Lemonade Mint Julep

A traditional mint julep has muddled mint leaves and bourbon with a little simple syrup. It’s a very boozy cocktail. When I’m making a cocktail for a party, or for day drinking, I usually try to tone down the booziness. So for this, I made a mint-y pink lemonade to mix with the bourbon and take down the concentration of liquor. It also is a great replacement for the simple syrup as pink lemonade is pretty sweet.

The history of the cocktail comes from it being a sweet cocktail combined with an herb. Traditionally a ‘julep’ was used to administer medicine. The word ‘julep’ comes from the Spanish ‘julepe’ which can mean “medicine.” If you’ve had a traditional julep, it’s not hard to imagine medicine hiding in there - it’s a strong drink with strong flavors.

The trick to the Mint Pink Lemonade is to not let the mint steep for too long in the lemonade. Mint will get bitter after a bit - so leaving it for a few hours is perfect, overnight is too long.

This version of a mint julep is a lot less boozy than its origin and makes a great party drink. This is a perfect cocktail to make in a pitcher too! You can serve these for your next Derby party or really anytime you need a summer sipping cocktail!

Pink Lemonade Mint Julep

makes one drink

2 ounces mint infused pink lemonade

1 ounce bourbon

mint to garnish

In a cocktail shaker, combine lemonade and bourbon over ice. Shake or stir and strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with mint leaves.

Mint Infused Pink Lemonade

1 cup pink lemonade

6-8 sprigs mint

Rip the mint leaves and add them to the pink lemonade. Let rest in the fridge for at least one hour, but after 6 hours, pull out the mint leaves. They will get bitter otherwise!

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