Tuesday, August 16, 2016

black monk julep

1 1/2 oz Evan Williams Bonded Bourbon
1 oz Averna
3/4 oz Blackberry Syrup (2:1) (* see comments)
6-8 leaves Mint

Lightly muddle mint leaves in a Double Old Fashioned glass, add rest of ingredients, and stir. Top with crushed ice and garnish with mint sprigs.
The drink that Andrea requested was the Black Monk Julep created by bartenders Ryan Lotz and Jenna Rycroft. The darker ingredients and the blackberries reminded me of Eastern Standard's Cobbler, The Bon-Vivant, but this recipe was a Julep with a boozier punch. In the glass, the Julep presented a mint bouquet to the nose. Next, caramel and berry notes were balanced by the bonded whiskey's strength on the sip, and the swallow proffered Bourbon, blackberry, and minty flavors.

4 comments:

Paul said...

There's a * by the syrup. Does this mean that it can be something else or maybe a 1:1 syrup?

frederic said...

A full ounce of 1:1 is about the same sugar content as 3/4 oz of 2:1 (seems wrong until you see the numbers). Could be done with an ounce of simple and perhaps 2 big blackberries muddled and fine strained.

Not sure if a blackberry brandy would work well. My Marie Brizard doesn't taste as wholesome or as natural as syrup, but there are definitely some craft liqueurs out there that might be spot on or close.

JP said...

I used a small batch commercial but relatively high end (no alcohol) blackberry syrup, which seemed to work well. Overall I think this drink would be even tastier if it was less sweet, next time I will cut back on the Averna by about 1/4 or even 1/2 (I already cut back on the syrup I used). The drink is a bit cloying (my taste runs dry), but still suggestive of the classic Julip in an appealing deep, dark way, well worth trying again. Greetings from ATL.

frederic said...

I had to ask to confirm if the recipe they gave me was correct since it seemed like way too much sugar for what I was tasting. I usually make my Juleps at home as 2 oz spirit and 1/2 oz 1:1 simple.