The Ice Box - A Thyme Julep

I have watched the Kentucky Derby for as long as I can remember.  I was always fascinated by the elegance and pageantry of the event - the hats; the seersucker; and - of course - the Juleps!  In many ways, my love of the Derby mirrors my enthusiasm for cocktail culture. 

This year, I put my $2 Win-Place-Show bet on Ice Box and settled in to watch the race.   Even though I had created the Old #152 for the Derby, a Julep was required imbibing.  Nevertheless, a lack of mint and an abundance of thyme forced my hand, and palate, in a different direction. 

And so.... The Ice Box....

The Ice Box
----------------------------------------
2 1/2  oz straight bourbon
1 oz thyme syrup*

Pour syrup and half the bourbon in a glass (a highball glass is preferred, but a stemless cocktail glass works just as well). Add crushed ice and swirl until the outside of the glass frosts.  Add more crushed ice and the remaining bourbon and swirl again.  Garnish with a sprig of thyme.

* For the syrup: Combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of granulated white sugar in a pan. Bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and add 2-4 sprigs of fresh thyme. Steep overnight. Strain. Store in refrigerator.

----------------------------------------
Thoughts and a photo after the jump

As you can sort of see from the photo, I used Woodford Reserve - the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby.  (I also didn't have a ready supply of crushed ice so the final drink doesn't have the desired Sno-Cone look to it)

The thyme added a nice peppery note to the drink.  I prefer using flavored syrups to intensify the flavors, but simply bruising the thyme in plain syrup as you would in a Mint Julep should work just as well.  I'm curious what other flavors of Juleps might work.  I still have some Herbes de Provence syrup from the Old #152, so I may try that next.  Any other suggestions would be more than welcomed.

And for the Record....Ice Box placed so I won a grand total of $18.20....but since I bet on two other horses as well I ended up with a net profit of 20 cents.