Strawberry Mint Juleps

Every good southern hostess needs to have a great cocktail recipe up her sleeve.  Mine?  Strawberry Mint Juleps.  Why, you may ask?  Well, for starters, mint juleps are famously southern.  They are the signature drink of the Kentucky Derby, a fabulous celebration of horse racing, fashion and southern tradition.  Secondly, the combination of mint and strawberry is sweet and refreshing.  Perfect for hot spring and summer days.  And last, but certainly not least, my recipe calls for Jack Daniels.  Most juleps are traditionally made with bourbon, but bourbon and whiskey are interchangeable (they are essentially the same).  As a Tennessee girl, my loyalty lies with Jack Daniels.  So that was an obvious draw for me when coming up with this recipe.

I looked at several recipes for Strawberry Juleps and Mint Juleps in Southern Living and on different blogs around the web, but I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.  I wanted to use both strawberries and mint (most recipes called for one or the other), I wanted to use Jack Daniels (didn't find any recipes that used whiskey), and I wanted something bubbly in it (because, let's be honest, bubbly is always more festive).  So I came up with my own recipe.

Strawberry Mint Juleps

1 strawberry

5 mint leaves

1 tsp Jack Daniels

1 tsp sugar (I used 1 packet sugar substitute)

crushed ice

1 or 1 1/12 shots Jack Daniels

soda water

1 sprig mint for garnish

Muddle the strawberry and 5 mint leaves in 1 tsp of Jack Daniels until mostly smooth.  Add sugar and stir.  Pour into a tall glass.  Fill glass 2/3 of the way full with crushed ice.  Pour in 1 to 1 1/2 shots Jack Daniels and fill the rest of the way up with soda water.  Garnish with mint sprig.  Makes one cocktail.