 
The mint julep isn't just for the Derby anymore Aside from the martini, the mint julep may be the most iconic cocktail in America. There’s not a citizen alive who hasn’t heard of it, which is more than you can say for the Manhattan, the Cosmopolitan, the Sidecar, and the Negroni, all of which outsell mint juleps by a staggeringly wide margin. And that, mind you, is if you can even locate the rare bartender willing to fix you one. So here’s the saloon riddle for the day: If we know and adore mint juleps — “the very dream of drinks,” as a Kentucky newspaperman named J. Soule Smith wrote, accurately, in the 1890s — so damn much, then why don’t we drink them? Allow me to cut you off before you tell me about your last Derby Day party: Sorry, that doesn’t count. A drink this sublime —“the zenith of man’s pleasure,” Mr. Smith went on — shouldn’t be relegated to sipping just one day a year, like a fruitcake waiting for Christmas. It does not require, as a garnish, a televised horse race and a bunch of Yankees doing Foghorn Leghorn imitations. Nor will I brook the claim that juleps are hard to make. They’re no more difficult than all the mojitos that have been creeping their way north from Miami for the past half decade or so. They’re easier, in fact, since they don’t require a giant sack of limes. No, our weird resistance to drinking mint juleps — let’s cue Mr. Smith one more time, before we call him a cab: “He who has not tasted one has lived in vain” — is owing to something else. Here’s my theory: The mint julep has become too iconic to merely drink. It’s like the communion wafer of cocktails. For one, there’s all the back-and-forth scuffling among historians and professional “alcohologists” (to crib H. L. Mencken’s great term) about the inscrutable origins of the drink and the proper and properly authentic way to mix a julep — do you leave the mint in or remove it? Must the ice be crushed? And was the actual cause of the Civil War, as the author Irvin S. Cobb posited in 1936, an obnoxious Northerner adding nutmeg to a mint julep? Then there are those silver julep cups that tradition dictates using. They’re intimidating. And it feels downright silly drinking out of one of those while you’re watching the Braves on TV with your other hand nestled in a bowl of Ruffles. (I have a vast collection of those cups, all of them awarded to me for playing the groomsman role in various Southern weddings. In fact, there’s one on my desk as I type this. I keep pens in it.) Owing to all this pomp and kerfuffle, drinking a mint julep, to some folks, can feel too much like an affectation, akin to rechristening the porch the veranda, or yourself the Colonel. That’s way too much cultural pressure when you’re just trying to cool yourself off on a summer afternoon. Makes you want to reach for a Bud and be done with it. Don’t. The mint julep may be sacred in the South, but so is college football, and that doesn’t stop us from enjoying it. It’s not a tuxedo, requiring a special occasion. It’s a drink, a splendid and simple drink, the ideal analgesic to a tough day at work, and the perfect — yes, perfect — counter to the redlining mercury of a hot Southern day. Its central ingredients — mint, bourbon, sugar — do not suffer from clumsy commingling, nor demand engraved vessels, nor mind if you root for the New York Giants so long as Eli is taking the snap. (They will, however, violently boil over if you add nutmeg.) Citizens, it’s high time to reclaim the mint julep from the curators, the purists, the tsk-tsking authenticators and frowning archbishops of Southern culture. Think of it like the blues: It’s swell that all these archivists are preserving it, and it’s great that a microtonal analysis of Robert Johnson’s “Drunken Hearted Man” demonstrates Robert’s debt to Lonnie Johnson, but, really, shouldn’t we all be dancing? MINT JULEP RECIPE ½ oz. superfine sugar 1 oz. hot water 8 mint leaves, plus one mint sprig 2 oz. bourbon Dissolve the sugar in the water in an old-fashioned glass (or julep cup, of course). Add the mint leaves and press them lightly with a spoon — you want to seduce the oil from the mint leaves, not beat it out of them. Add the bourbon, fill the glass with cracked ice, and stir. Plant the mint sprig in the ice alongside a short straw, and serve. Yield: 1 serving — Jonathan Miles ALABAMA Flower Power Hydrangea fans all over the Southeast will make the pilgrimage to the Aldridge Botanical Gardens in Hoover this May for the spring sale. Many will be on the lookout for Aldridge’s signature blossom, the ‘Snowflake Hydrangea,’ which was developed and patented by Eddie Aldridge and is known for its striking double white flowers. The event begins on May 8 with the members’ preview and opens to the public the following day. In addition to the ‘Snowflake,’ there will be more than fifty varieties of hydrangeas on sale. aldridgegardens.com ARKANSAS Hell on the Home Front In May, National Book Award winner and Arkansas resident Ellen Gilchrist will add another masterpiece to her body of work. A Dangerous Age (Algonquin Books, $24) tells the story of three Southern cousins, Louise, Winifred, and Olivia, as they cope with the aftermath of September 11 and the war in Iraq. “I just can’t imagine anyone not being concerned by and interested in the people who are affected by the war — by the deaths of the war and the pain of the families that are left behind to bury their children or to take care of the wounded,” says Gilchrist. “It just seemed like the only thing that I could write about during this period of time.” Gilchrist’s tale will hold you tightly through the end. FLORIDA Tarpon Wars It happens every May in the Sunshine State. As the last of the sunburned tourists trudge back to New Jersey and points north, tarpon start gathering en masse off Florida beaches. Just why the tarpon congregate, no one can really agree on. But one thing is clear, the tarpon are hungry—and big. And that’s what matters to fishermen. Perhaps the largest concentration of fish file through Boca Grande Pass, where huge hammerhead sharks pushing a thousand pounds also join anglers in hot pursuit of tarpon. “It’s definitely the best place in the world to catch a Silver King,” says Captain Dave Lear, a ten-year veteran of the Florida tarpon wars. “But it can also be a giant parking lot out on the water.” For less company but a solid showing of fish, Key West is a strong option. Lear focuses his spring efforts farther north in the Big Bend area. There, one-hundred-pound tarpon swim in shallow water offering anglers the chance to sight cast with fly rods. Often the fish fall for large streamers or shrimp patterns. “Nothing beats the sight of that big bucket-mouth inhaling a fly,” says Lear. Hooking the fish will be the easy part. Landing it will be another story. floridafishing.com GEORGIA Pardon Our French Even though it’s just outside of Atlanta, the French provincial Château Élan Winery & Resort seems worlds away from the hustle — and traffic — of the city. The state-of-the-art equestrian center hosts some of the most prestigious horse competitions in Georgia, and the on-site seventy-five-acre vineyard and winery has earned the resort the rank as the largest premium wine producer in the state. Before you scoff at the thought of homegrown Georgia wine, take note: Château Élan has been recognized in several international competitions for exceptional vintages. You can’t go wrong with the 2004 Chardonnay, which won a silver medal at the Amanti del Vino 2005 International Wine Competition. The resort winery also houses two restaurants as well as its own art gallery. Beginning in May, view the rustic works of Georgia watercolorist Linda Griffiths. Her European-inspired works include vintage hunting and fishing scenes as well as architectural depictions. chateauelan.com KENTUCKY Southern Fried Rock Some things are inarguable: Pork makes the best barbeque; there’s no better place on a fall Saturday than a college football stadium; and My Morning Jacket is currently the greatest American rock ’n’ roll band. A bold statement to be sure, but with all due respect to R.E.M. and Wilco, no one captures the sweeping grandeur of our great country like this Louisville-based fivesome. Through the course of five stunning albums — the band’s sixth epic Evil Urges comes out June 10 — MMJ has incorporated woozy psychedelia, crunchy Southern rock riffage, classic soul, and haunting country into an otherworldly palette of sound. It’s as if Radiohead — MMJ’s closest comparison — grew up drinking Kentucky moonshine rather than pints in an English pub. Evil Urges will only cement MMJ’s stature. It is staggering in its level of experimentation, yet never feels strained, much of its cohesiveness generated through lead singer Jim James’ angelic-sounding voice. “We move in a lot of directions for sure: country, western, hip-hop, rock, soul, electro, folk,” says James, the band’s driving creative force. “Hopefully people will hear it and realize that all music is not so different as people think it is. It’s all the same ball of emotion.” Though his travels with MMJ take him around the world — the band will spend the rest of the year on the road — Louisville remains his true love. “Louisville always feels kind of in the middle of everything — the best of all worlds,” James says. “It’s not big or small, but it has the benefits of both. I feel that the middle is always the best place to be and I try really hard to be there as much as I can.” — Matt Hendrickson LOUISIANA Be a Sucker for a Night Love it or hate it, come spring the seersucker will rise from the depths of closets all over the South. And at no time will it be more prominent than on May 16 when the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans hosts its fourth annual Sippin’ in Seersucker. The evening, held at the Shops at Canal Place, will include a specialty cocktail bar by Café Adelaide and the Swizzle Stick Bar and signature dishes from local eateries (we recommend Zia’s spinach salad). Onstage, singer Topsy Chapman is scheduled to perform in a tribute to Dinah Washington. Chapman’s performance will coincide with the museum’s exhibit of photographs and personal artifacts of jazz musician Lionel Hampton. For tickets and more information, call the Shops at Canal Place at 504-522-9200. MARYLAND Race to Paradise The unique and technical challenge of combining inshore and offshore sailing makes the Bermuda Ocean Race (BOR) a prime competition for the elite sailing crowd. Since its inception in 1979, the BOR has maintained the strictest entry policies, accepting a maximum of fifty teams that set off from the Eastport Yacht Club on the Annapolis shore. This year’s regatta begins at 1:00 p.m. on June 13 and follows a pristine path to the finish line at the St. George’s Dinghy and Sports Club in Bermuda. For entry information and crew opportunities visit bermudaoceanrace.com. MISSISSIPPI For the Birds When foodies in Mississippi talk about Martha, you can bet they’re not referring to the domestic-doyenne-cum-jailbird. Down here, Martha is Martha Hall Foose. This month the Mississippi Delta native has a new book hitting the shelves, Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook (Random House, $32.50). The book is as much about her own Southern experiences as it is about her recipes. We’re fans of her Mailbox Cocktail, a simple mix of good bourbon, ginger ale, and limes. According to Foose, the drink gets its name from the neighbors who consistently gather at 5:00 every afternoon by their mailboxes, cocktails in hand. Is it quitting time yet? NORTH CAROLINA Fifty Years of the Rock Want to surround yourself with some of the best blue-water fishermen on the planet? Enter the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in Morehead City. This year the tourney will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. Prize money will be awarded every day for the first billfish release of the morning, and a cash prize of $5,000 will be awarded for the fiftieth billfish release of the tournament. Competitors also earn a chance to win the most coveted prize, a one-of-a-kind custom-painted Harley-Davidson. If fate keeps you from hitting the Big Rock this year, you can get a live taste of the action via the tournament Web site, thebigrock.com. The tournament begins on June 7. SOUTH CAROLINA Tales of the Wildlife Patrol When Ben Moïse was just a boy with a paper route in Sumter County, he wanted to be a game warden. Thankfully for wildlife in the Lowcountry, he followed through with his intentions. Now retired and one of Charleston’s men-about-town, this former conservation officer has experienced his fair share of adventure, hilarity, and bravery along the South Carolina coast. In his new memoir, Ramblings of a Lowcountry Game Warden (University of South Carolina Press, $30), Moïse recounts the trials and tribulations of life on the job. Chasing dangerous criminals proves just as challenging for Moïse as keeping the halter top on a very large woman who insists on “revealing her enormous, pendulous, tattoo-adorned ninnies.” Sometimes humorous, sometimes harrowing, Ramblings offers a longtime land steward’s candid look inside the world of wildlife patrol. The book is for the outdoorsman or anyone who craves the true tales of an alligator-wrestling, drug-cartel-snuffing undercover badass. TENNESSEE FIG at the Farm With an impeccable menu by Sam Beall, a working organic farm, and a wine list that runs one hundred and ten pages, Blackberry Farm, in Walland, hardly needs any help tickling taste buds. But the epicurean resort likes to keep things fresh, extending frequent invitations to renowned chefs and vintners for weekends tailored to their expertise. On June 22-24 join chef Mike Lata of FIG, in Charleston, South Carolina, and Heidi and Ted Lemon of Littorai Wines, in Sebastopol, California, for Going Coastal, a weekend devoted to the flavors of the East and West coasts. Lata’s part-European, part-Lowcountry style is sure to pair perfectly with terroir-based Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs from Sonoma and Mendocino counties. We’re told the menu is a secret. blackberryfarm.com TEXAS Return of the Beaumont Boy Even though John Alexander left home in 1979 for the cosmopolitan art scene of New York, his Southeast Texas bayou roots run deep. The internationally renowned artist continues to draw inspiration from his childhood years in rural Beaumont, where he would camp, hunt, and fish with his father in nearby forests known as the Big Thicket. Fresh from a tour at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., Alexander’s work is featured at Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts through June 22. The show features sixty-one oil paintings on canvas and thirty-six works on paper spanning three decades of artistic development: from semi-abstract allegorical landscapes to caustic social satire, to refined studies of flora and fauna. Interlaced throughout is a passion for the environment, with a tinge of doom. When describing one of his own works, Alexander once said, “It’s a look at Shangri-la before the wrecking ball hits.” John Alexander: A Retrospective, through June 22 at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. mfah.org VIRGINIA Here Come the Italians Whether you’re a diehard polo fan or simply want to support your country, head to Leesburg this May for tradition, patriotism, and polo. The international phenomenon snowballed from a single desire: to raise the standard of polo in the D.C.-Virginia area. After two years of hard work by founder and team captain Tareq Salahi, a U.S. polo team (composed of players from Virginia) took on the U.K. in the first-ever Land Rover America’s Polo Cup. This year, a newly selected U.S. team challenges Italy. American team member Charles Muldoon admits that this event has a bit more pressure than a typical match. “It’s different than playing for a check; you’re playing for honor, for your country.” The weekend kicks off Friday, May 9, with Rockin’ the Runway, a walk-off runway competition between top fashion designers from Italy and America. That’s followed by an international culinary competition involving chefs from both countries. The festivities on Saturday, May 10, include a traditional horse and hound show, mounted police demonstrations, and an aerial show by U.S. military aircraft including the Blue Angels. The day concludes with fireworks and a live concert by Huey Lewis & the News (yes, they’re still alive and still claiming it’s hip to be square). And then there’s the polo match. This six-chukker match is the only international invitational polo competition. It pits the four best players from both countries against each other. Beyond bringing a sense of intercontinental elegance back to the sport, the event will raise funds for the Journey for the Cure Foundation, which supports several charitable organizations, including the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This is particularly dear to Muldoon, who is a Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor. “It’s an opportunity to bring the disease to the public’s attention,” explains Muldoon, who had never heard of Hodgkin’s lymphoma until he was diagnosed with it. “It’s an opportunity to use my skill to give back to the community.” americaspolocup.com — Carter Worrell WASHINGTON D.C. Dixie Dining Maybe a touch of good old-fashioned Southern hospitality can spur peace between Democrats and Republicans…at least for one night. And no night in the capital is as quintessentially “Dixie” as the Taste of the South Gala. Now held annually in May, the event began in 1982 as a charity benefit dinner and became an instant hit, for both its philanthropic nature and, of course, the great Southern food. Guests at the black-tie dinner sample the best foods from thirteen Southern states. This year’s featured charity is North Carolina’s Cancer Services, based in Winston-Salem, with a portion of the funds also benefiting the Armed Forces Foundation of Washington, D.C. The gala is at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 17, at the D.C. Armory. For ticket information visit thetasteofthesouth.com. WEST VIRGINIA Master Class If you’re not wild about your own barbeque recipe, the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs is offering the perfect opportunity to get it right in time for grilling season. Learn how to cook a whole hog, make rubs, and build fires that last. The three-day crash course in this Southern summer staple will be led by expert chefs “Dr. BBQ” (Ray Lampe), “Pit Master” (Chris Lilly), and “Chief Cook” (Myron Mixon). The barbeque mastery classes begin June 29, with two additional sessions in July and August. greenbrier.com CARIBBEAN Sugar High For several weeks each year, Barbados trades its relaxed island lifestyle for a walk on the wild side as the entire island erupts in colorful celebrations of Crop Over. The festival began in the 1780s, when the island was the world’s largest sugar producer. At the close of each harvest, all of Barbados would engage in celebratory feasts and parades. The tradition that remains begins each year in May and runs through the first Monday in August. The rich cultural experience starts with the symbolic delivery of the very last harvested canes to the King and Queen of the festival, the most productive cane cutters of the season. Throughout Crop Over, locals and visitors can get a full serving of Barbados tradition and cultural practices through street fairs, parades, fireworks, local art exhibits, food, and a wide variety of musical entertainment. The festival culminates with Grand Kadooment, a massive parade celebration of fireworks, costumes, and music. |
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