Today is Derby day, and while I’m leaning towards bets on Big Brown, Pyro, and Court Vision in Kentucky’s Run for the Roses, I’m more preoccupied with preparations for Mint Juleps, which are one of the few hard liquor beverages (aside from breakfast junk like Bloody Marys and Mimosas) that are acceptable to drink before cocktail hour, though only on one day a year. That’s even more impressive because a Mint Julep is pretty much all bourbon, and lots of it. There’s a good chance you’ll be trashed after just one.

So, how to make one? The Mint Julep is filled with lots of decisions, most of which are a matter of personal taste. Granulated sugar or simple syrup? Muddled mint or just a mint rub? What kind of bourbon to use? Straw or no? Even the kind of cup you use is up for debate.

The original Julep is a pretty easy affair: Dump a little sugar and water in a glass, muddle with mint, fill with ice, pour in the bourbon, and drink. Modern science has provided new options: The Wall Street Journal’s Eric Felten recommends making a mint-steeped simple syrup (or using Sonoma Syrup Company’s bottled mint syrup), and drinking the thing with a straw. (As much as I love Felten, he also recommends a $300 ice shaving machine and solid silver tankards (mine are silver plate), too.)

The choice of bourbon is another sore subject with many. However, I find almost any bourbon works well in a Julep because the mint and sugar overpower any subtlety in the spirit. It’s one of the few times I actually use Jack Daniel’s. (And don’t tell me a Tennessee whiskey is heresy: The Mint Julep originated in Virginia, not Kentucky.) So feel free to grab the Jack, Jim Beam, or whatever’s on hand. Today I’m using Knob Creek, one of my favorite bourbons in any cocktail.

I like to add a float to my Julep, something that’s a bit out of style in most recipes, probably because the 3-plus ounces of bourbon you’re getting here is enough booze for anyone. But a dark rum float adds some flavor that take the Julep from “minty sweet bourbon” into a more interesting direction, especially on that first sip — which, for the record, I highly recommend consuming without a straw. Sticking your face into the mint and breathing that heady aroma in deep is what the Mint Julep is all about.

So, at long last, here’s the full recipe!

The Drinkhacker Mint Julep
3-4 oz. Bourbon
1 oz. simple syrup
10-15 mint leaves, depending on size and pungency
1 scant teaspoon dark rum

Drop a handful of loosely torn mint leaves into a silver tankard or rocks glass with 1 oz. simple syrup. Muddle lightly (heavy muddling can bring out bitterness), then fill about 3/4 of the way with crushed ice (crush it the best you can but don’t worry if it’s still pretty rough and rocky). Fill with bourbon to about the level of the ice and stir to mix the Bourbon with the syrup and mint. Top up with crushed ice to overflowing, then splash a very small amount of dark rum on top as a float. Garnish with a nice spring of mint and serve immediately.

All measurements are approximate. The Mint Julep, in my mind, is one of the best cocktails for just grabbing a bottle and making up proportions as you go, to suit your taste. Now get out there and make some bets!

Once again, it’s dessert drink time at Drinkhacker. This one’s inspired by the eponymous cookie.

Nilla Wafer
1 1/2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. white chocolate liqueur (I use Godiva White)
1/2 oz. Navan vanilla liqueur
1/4 oz. Damiana liqueur (a Mexican herbal liqueur)

Shake with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Rim the glass with sugar beforehand if you’re feeling ambitious.

Try adding 1/2 oz. of creme de banana liqueur for an additional twist.

Summer is nearly here, but summer fruit is already available at the market. Here’s a new recipe for strawberries that doesn’t have the overpowering sweetness of a frozen daiquiri.

Vaya Con Fresas (Go With Strawberries)
4 strawberries, destemmed
2 oz. spiced rum (preferably Kilo Kai)
1/2 oz. peach-flavored brandy
1/2 oz. Chambord
1/2 oz. agave nectar

In a tall rocks glass, muddle the strawberries until they’re thoroughly crushed. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Fill with ice and stir again until cold.

Sub in sugar for the agave nectar if you don’t have it. For fun, sub tequila for the rum, and any other flavoring for the peach brandy (maybe maraschino, Cointreau, or even melon liqueur).

Today I wrapped up two months of filling in as the interim editor-in-chief of Mac|Life magazine. Fun times, and some really good people there (click the thumbnail to see the staff in all its glory).

To celebrate the completion of our June issue and go out with a bang, I created this cocktail specifically for the magazine. May all Apple fiends drink it up with gusto!

The Mac|Life Cocktail
2 oz. Tito’s Handmade Vodka (no substitutes! Tito’s is the official vodka of Mac|Life)
3/4 oz. St. Germain liqueur
1/4 oz. Calvados (or Applejack)
1 dash peach bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an apple slice.

And there you have it. Oh, and if you’re a Windows or Linux guy, I promise you’ll like the concoction as well. Garnish with a peach slice instead if you hate Steve Jobs. (See also: The iPhone Martini.)

Here’s the recipe that launched this blog, reprinted here from my personal blog, just for kicks and the sake of completeness.

The Appletini, iPhone Edition (aka The iPhonetini, The iPhone Martini)
2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. Apple Pucker Schnapps
1/2 oz. Goldschlager
1/4 oz. Cointreau (or Triple Sec)

Combine in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass, optionally rimmed with sugar. Garnish with your old cell phone (or an apple wedge).

It actually tastes pretty good: Apple and cinnamon are a natural fit. The off-white color recalls many an Apple gizmo (though not, of course, the iPhone itself), and the little touch of gold reminds you exactly what you’re paying for. (Oh, and if you like a stronger apple flavor, add a bit more Apple Pucker.)

Here’s a spin on the Casino recipe that I love so much, adding St. Germain (which I also love so much) to give it an extra dimension of taste.

The Downtown Casino
2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. Maraschino liqueur
1/2 oz. St. Germain liqueur
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

Shake all the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a brandied cherry.

Use less Maraschino and lemon juice if you find either flavor too strong, and sub in gin for vodka at your pleasure.

The red bottle and fancy writing make Ecstasy instantly appealing… but what is this “liqueur” that’s bottled at a whopping 70 proof and includes caffeine?

Clearly marketed at the Red Bull & Vodka crowd, Ecstasy is a spirit (basically diluted grain alcohol) for the LiLo/Paris/Britney crowd, spiked with caffeine, ginseng, taurine, and other stimulants designed to help you dance-slash-party after a long day of sleeping and shopping instead of mellowing out after a long day of work.

Ecstasy describes the spirit as having “the predominant flavors of pomegranate and citrus with notes of apple,” and by that I assume they mean “bubble gum.” Seriously, this is Bubblicious distilled into a bottle, and infused with stimulants and booze. Drinking it straight tastes a little like chewing Bubble Yum with a gushy vodka center. Again, imagine the target audience.

I tried Ecstasy straight (not great), with equal parts vodka (better), and in one of the most daring things I’ve ever consumed, mixed in equal parts with Jagermeister in a concoction Ecstasy calls the Exorcism (not as bad as you’d think; a bit like Blackjack gum). Still, no one in my generation is going to be knocking this stuff back on a nightly basis. But if the paparazzi are after you, well, by all means, get to it.

C / $30 (and up) / drinkecstasy.com

For Hollywood’s most glamorous night, here’s what the Drinkhacker crew is imbibing:

The Oscar Cosmo
1 1/2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. pomegranate liqueur
1/4 oz. orange liqueur
1 oz. cranberry juice

Shake first three ingredients with ice in a shaker. Pour into a cocktail glass. Top off with cranberry juice.

The Healthberry
1 1/2 oz. vodka
1 oz. VeeV açai spirit
1/2 oz. Chambord
1 sugar cube

Put all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake well, and strain into a cocktail glass.

It looks a lot like a Cosmopolitan, but the taste is quite different (letting the açai come through), and much stronger. Just one will do ya, promise!

As discussed here, I promised my recipe for the Sparkling Caipirinha, a lighter way to sip cachaça, a Brazilian sugar cane rum. This cocktail offers the spirit of the Caipirinha but is easier to sip; more like a Mojito than a Martini.

The Sparkling Caipirinha
1/2 a lime, cut into four pieces
1 teaspoon sugar
2 oz. cachaça
7-Up

In a rocks glass muddle the lime with the sugar (use only 3 pieces of the lime if you prefer). Add the cachaça and fill with ice. Top up with 7-Up.

Delicious!