Maker’s Mark is one of Kentucky’s finest bourbons, handcrafted at the oldest operating bourbon distillery in the world. Rob Samuels, eighth generation distiller and grandson of Maker’s Mark Founder Bill Samuels Sr., has happily offered up his family’s personal recipe for The Perfect Mint Julep

“The Perfect Mint Julep”

(Serves 14-16)

Ingredients:

1 liter Maker’s Mark® Bourbon

Lots of fresh spearmint

Distilled water

Granulated sugar

Powdered sugar

1. To prepare the mint extract, remove about 40 small mint leaves – wash and place in a small mixing bowl.  Cover with 3 ounces of Maker’s Mark.  Allow the leaves to soak for 15 minutes.  Then, gather the leaves in a clean, soap-free piece of cotton cloth and vigorously wring the mint bundle over the bowl of whisky.  Dip the bundle again and repeat the process several times.  Then set aside.

2. To prepare the simple syrup, mix 1 cup of granulated sugar and one cup of water in a cooking pot.  Heat to dissolve the sugar.  Stir constantly so the sugar does not burn.  Set aside to cool.

3. To prepare the mint julep mixture, pour 3 ½ cups of Maker’s Mark into a large glass bowl or glass pitcher.  (Pour the remaining whisky from the liter bottle into another container and save it for another purpose).  Add 1 cup of the simple syrup to the Maker’s Mark.

4. Now, begin adding the mint extract a tablespoon at a time to the julep mixture.  Each batch of mint extract is different, so you must taste and smell after each tablespoon is added.  You may have to leave the room a time or two to clear your nose.  The tendency is to use too much mint.  You are looking for a soft mint aroma and taste – generally about 3 tablespoons.

5. When you think its right, pour the whole mixture back into the empty liter bottle and refrigerate it for at least 24 hours to “marry” the flavors.

6. To serve the mint julep, fill each glass (preferably a silver mint julep cup) half full with shaved ice.  Insert a sprig of mint and then pack in more ice to about an inch over the top of the cup.  Then, insert a straw that has been cut to one inch above the top of the cup so the nose is forced close to the mint when sipping the julep.

7. When frost forms on the cup, pour the refrigerated julep mixture over the ice, add a sprinkle of powdered sugar to the top of the ice and serve.

Enjoy this bourbon cocktail to celebrate the opening of baseball season.

Rub half a lemon around the rim of a glass and place into crushed Cracker Jack to coat the rim. Combine Wild Turkey, Frangelico, Amaretto, lemon juice and salt in a shaker. Mix and strain into a glass with rocks and top with soda water.

Status Update

Ingredients

• 2 ounces Bourbon
• 1/2 ounce Apple juice or 5 pices of apples
• 3/4 ounce Ginger syrup
• 3/4 ounce Lime juice
• 3/4 ounce Royal Combier

Preparation

Get inspired like the inventors of Facebook by drinking MPD’s updated appletini just like Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker’s characters do in the movie!

Fill a shaker with Ice. Add 3/4 ounce of Royal Combier (orange liquor),1/2 apple cider, 3/4 ounce of lime juice, 3/4 ounce of ginger syrup, 2 ounce of Bulleit Bourbon. Fill a rocks glass with ice. Double strain to finish.

Recipe by Derek and Daniel Koch, Cocktail experts and co-owners of MPD. For more cocktails inspired by Academy Award nominated movies check out these recipes on Today Show’s website.

Woodford Reserve bourbon infused with apples and cinnamon

We received a bottle of this infused bourbon for Christmas and have been enjoying it ever since. The recipe is very simple and quite delicious. We have refilled the bottle several times and the apple-cinnamon flavor keeps seeping into the whiskey. If you are looking for something a little different, give it a try and let us know what you think.

Apples and Cinnamon infused Woodford Reserve

1 liter Woodford Reserve Bourbon
5 ounces dried apples
4 cinnamon sticks

Pour all of the bourbon into a large pitcher. Into the now empty bottle of Woodford Reserve add the dried apples and cinnamon sticks. Carefully pour back enough Woodford Reserve to fill the bottle. Cap and let sit for three days.

The infused bourbon is great on its own neat in a glass or shaken with ice and strained into small martini glasses.

Other ideas:

• Make several bottles and give as holiday gifts with the recipe attached and serving ideas
• Mix the infused bourbon with apple juice for a refreshing cocktail on ice
• Heat and serve it as a hot toddy and top with whipped cream
• For alternative flavors the same process can be used with dried figs or dried peaches with a vanilla bean

Recipe by Tim Laird

The Maker’s Heart

Shake and strain up or over ice. Garnish with an orange peel. Dash of Fee Bros. Orange Bitters. Rim with navel orange-zested sugar.

In a mixing glass combine:

• 3 Blackberries
• 1 oz POM 100% Pomegranate Juice
• ¼ oz Lemon Juice
• Muddle. Add ice and:
• 2 oz Maker’s 46
• ¾ oz Sweet Vermouth (preferably Carpano Antica)
• 1 oz Simple Syrup
• For sugar rim: Take one ounce of plain white sugar and zest it with four peels of orange.

New York, NY –

Nascimento’s cocktail was reviewed by a distinguished panel of experts along with the 10 other bartenders creations from across the country. Nascimento and the other participant’s cocktails were critiqued on creativity, ingredients, presentation and taste. The judges included Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Chris Morris, spirits journalist Paul Pacult, Whiskycast creator Mark Gillespie, and Douglass Miller from the Culinary Institute of America. The judging took place at The Manhattan Experience at Top of the Standard in New York City on Monday, January 10.

“There was some stiff competition from the other bartenders and I didn’t expect to win, but the judges told me they thought my drink really stood out,” said Nascimento.  “The whole time in New York was exceptional and I want to thank Woodford Reserve and Esquire for an amazing experience.”

The Voodoo Manhattan along with the other 10 recipes will be featured in a Woodford Reserve advertisement in the February edition of Esquire. The Voodoo Manhattan recipe is as follows:

Voodoo Manhattan crafted by Marcelo Nascimento

2½ oz. Woodford Reserve®

½ oz. Amaro Averna

½ oz. Clément Créole Shrubb

½ bar spoon of Pink peppercorns

Garnish with skewered blood orange supremes and inflamed orange peel

So catch a matinee, come home and make yourself up a “Rooster.” What better way to follow a new classic than with another?

Check out the recipe below and give it a try. Be sure to leave a comment and let us know if it is any good!

The Rooster
1 1/2 oz Wild Turkey 101
1/2 oz cinnamon schnapps laced with gold flakes
4 oz Sarsaparilla or any root beer
Salted rim (provides the grit!)

The three classic drinks can be made with any type of whiskey, but require one that has full flavor as a suitable match for the robust ingredients used in the drinks. Rye, with its drier and spicier flavor profile, has once again become the preferred choice of bartenders, but its increasing popularity has made it difficult to obtain in parts of the country.

Most bourbons are too sweet to stand up to the ingredients of the cocktails, so Wild Turkey Bourbon, at 101 proof, is the perfect choice. The higher proof delivers a deeper, richer flavor that fits perfectly with the drinks below. Each cocktail evokes the perfectly balanced profile that has made these drinks real classics, while tweaking them just enough to pleasantly surprise even the most seasoned cocktail enthusiast.

The Manhattan 101

Ingredients:

1 3/4 ounces Wild Turkey Bourbon

1/3 ounce dry vermouth

1/3 ounce sweet vermouth

1 thin slice fresh ginger

3 mint leaves

1/2  tsp powdered sugar

Dash aromatic bitters

Muddle ginger, mint, powdered sugar and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Add Wild Turkey Bourbon, vermouth and ice. Shake and strain into a chilled glass.

The Old Fashioned 101

Ingredients:

1 1/3 ounce Wild Turkey Bourbon

1/2 ounce apple cider

3 sage leaves

1 pinch of saffron

1 tsp brown sugar

2 orange twists

1 tsp orange zest

1 fresh cherry

1 ounce Amaretto

Slice cherry from top to bottom five times around pit, and soak in a cup of Amaretto. Muddle cider, sage, saffron, brown sugar, orange twists and zest together in glass. Add Wild Turkey Bourbon and stir. Strain and serve over ice, garnish with Amaretto-soaked cherry.

The Whiskey Sour 101

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces Wild Turkey Bourbon

1/2 ounce fresh squeezed grapefruit juice

1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice

1/2 ounce honey

1 fresh cherry

1 ounce Wild Turkey American Honey

Dollop of egg white

Slice cherry from top to bottom five times around pit, and soak in a cup of Wild Turkey American Honey. Combine Wild Turkey Bourbon, grapefruit juice, lime juice and honey in a cocktail shaker.  Froth egg white and add a dollop to the mixture.  Shake and serve over ice.  Garnish with Wild Turkey American Honey-soaked cherry.