Ingredients for 10 MINT JULEPS

  •  3/4 cup sugar
  •  2 cups chopped fresh mint sprigs plus additional whole sprigs for garnish
  •  crushed ice
  •  1 1/2 ounces (1 jigger) bourbon, or to taste, per julep

Preparation

  1. In a saucepan combine the sugar and 3/4 cup water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
  2. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the chopped mint, and let the mixture stand for at least 2 hours.
  3. Strain the syrup through a fine sieve into a jar or small bowl, pressing hard on the solids, discard the solids, and let the syrup cool. The syrup may be made 2 weeks in advance and kept covered and chilled. (The syrup will darken but this will not affect the taste.)

For each julep fill a silver julep cup or 10-ounce glass with some ice, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the mint syrup, or to taste, and 1 1/2 ounces bourbon, and stir the julep. Garnish each julep with 1 of the additional mint sprigs.