Depending how sweet you would like your Mint Julep, you can alter the ratio of syrup to Bourbon.

Westhampton Beach - Okay, so you were out and about at your favorite Kentucky Derby party drinking one or just watched it on television wishing you had one, in any case the Mint Julep is a great drink anytime throughout the summer. To that end we cornered Starr Boggs' manager/bartender Allison Seglin for Starr's version of this classic cocktail of the South.

Whereas the standard way to make a Mint Julep calls for three sprigs of mint to be crusted with sugar in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass or tumbler and then the mint discarded, Starr Boggs creates its own mint syrup. As Seglin explains it, " We take the mint leaves and macerate (soak) them and boil them in sugar and water to make a mint infused simple syrup. Then we fill a glass with crushed ice and fill the glass with one-quarter of the cooled syrup and three-quarters Woodruff Reserve Bourbon Whiskey. Then we garnish it with a couple of sprigs of mint."

 • Several sprigs of fresh mint
 • 1 cup of sugar
 • 2 cups of water
 • Crushed Ice
 • Kentucky Bourbon

Depending how sweet you would like your Mint Julep, you can alter the ratio of syrup to Bourbon. Whether you decide to create your own mint simple syrup or crush the leaves in the bottom of the glass with sugar and water, the ratio of water to sugar should be about two-to-one in either case. Here are the ingredients you'll need to create this refreshing spring classic:

For nearly a century, the mint julep has been the traditional beverage of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby.

Starr Boggs is located at 6 Parlato Drive, Westhampton Beach, 631-288-3500, www.starrboggs.com.