Cynar Julep
A julep with no whiskey at all — just amaro, mint and a mountain of crushed ice.
Time
5 min
Difficulty
Medium
Glass
Julep tin
Method
Swizzled
The Method
How to make it
- 01
Gently press the mint leaves against the wall of a julep tin with a bar spoon — bruise, don't shred.
- 02
Add Cynar, rye and simple syrup.
- 03
Fill halfway with crushed ice and swizzle until the tin frosts.
- 04
Mound more crushed ice into a dome on top.
- 05
Plant a fat mint bouquet next to a straw, cut short so your nose sits in the mint.
Bartender's Tip
Crushed ice or nothing. Cubes won't chill a julep tin fast enough, and the dilution curve is the whole architecture of the drink.
A Little History
The Cynar Julep spread out of Brooklyn bars in the late 2000s as bartenders looked for something to serve at 2pm in August. Cynar's artichoke bitterness behaves like bourbon's oak under all that mint and ice, which is why the drink works despite having almost no whiskey in it.
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