True Southern Women are Rolling in Their Graves Right Now
So I finally made it to the Screen Door restaurant, night one of two. Everything was great, except for one (big?) thing.
The problem wasn’t the Southern appetizers- the brisket biscuits and seasoned shrimp were flavorful and disappeared in a hurry. The problem wasn’t the decor- the spacious but quaint dinning room decorated in greens, browns, and ivory will be a future power-lunch spot. The problem wasn’t the tart-but-not-too-tart lemon drop martini- it was great.
No, the problem arose in the restaurant’s much talked about “drink of the true Southern woman,” the mint julep.
When it was served, it looked like a winner in its silver tumbler (like those served at the Kentucky Derby) and crushed ice with the perfect garnishing of mint. However, the first taste - and second and third - revealed that this house blend of sugar, water, mint, and whiskey did not taste like a mint julep, but like orange cough syrup.
Thick, sugary, and lacking that whiskey kick, the cocktail was hard to drink and reminded me of a melted Popsicle over ice. I only made it to four sips before I discretely set down my glass and quickly walked away. However, as I looked around the room, I noticed a littering of left-behind mint juleps and realized that others probably felt the same way as I did: disappointed.
A friend of mine, Southern to the soul, once told me that her grandmother was a “true Southern woman” and didn’t crack a smile until her morning mint julep. Unfortunately, there was no smiling after the one last night.
I have not eaten there but have had drinks.
What I have found with some of the cocktails, the julep included, there is a fine like between a nice strong cocktail and one which is so strong there are not any other flavors but the liquor.
A perfectly made cocktail allows the alcohol to enhance the mint, sugar, etc. not overwhelm it all. Sometimes there is not the need for more bang for your buck.
I would head to the Loon for that.
Mine was not too sugary, just way way too strong to be enjoyable.
Only if they’re dead Southern women, right?
Mint juleps, like all drinks made with bourbon, taste like a wood chip pile leftover by termites.
Substitute decent rum in the same recipe and you likely would have drained the glass.