A weekend away and a Blackberry-Lemon-Mint Julep

Happy Monday! How were your weekends?

Adam and I had a great weekend of house-sitting/dog-sitting while his parents were away.

And... I'll just say it... when you're still "young marrieds" like us, staying at your parents can still feel luxurious. Can I get an amen?

You know, like having nice beer, having cable, and having a fridge full of treats that we don't normally get at the grocery store...what Adam and I like to think of as: the little luxuries of life.

Ok, maybe I shouldn't speak for all young marrieds,

but at least now you know where I'm coming from while reading the rest of this post.

So, this last weekend when we got to his parents I opened the fridge to scope out the "treats" and I saw a Costco size carton of blackberries! A few seconds after munching on a couple, I thought "I need to make a drink with these" (What? I can't help it. When you blog a lot, you start to think in blog too).

After doing a little research I found just the one with a few changes to make it our own.

Ready for it? 

It's a Blackberry-Lemon-Mint Julep.

You might be thinking "Wait a second.... what's a mint julep?"

Valid question. According to Wikipedia "The mint julep is a mixed alcoholic drink, or coctail, associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States. A mint julep is traditionally made with four ingredients: mint leaf, bourbon, sugar, and water."

So, in case you were just thinking that you need more mint julep in your life, or maybe you wanted another use for blackberries and didn't know what mint julep even was (like me), we'll share what we did.

Here's what you need:

1/4 c fresh mint leaves

1 c blackberries

3 T sugar

1/4 c bourbon

1 c Lemon la Croix water

Several small ice cubes

Mint for garnishing

makes 2 servings

Here's how to do it:

1. First, chop the mint finely. (But don't stress too much because it's about to go into the food processor/blender)

2. Put the blackberries, mint, and sugar into the food processor and puree.

3. Add in the bourbon, Lemon la Croix water, and ice.

4. Blend until smooth, and pour into your glass. Garnish with mint so it looks pretty.

It was refreshing and delicious. Adam said it was probably his favorite drink we've made so far!

A delightful little study break for two.

(Well I wasn't studying... and perhaps Adam shouldn't have had Makers Mark during a study break.... but let's not get caught up on details...)

So try it and tell us about it!

What did you think of your first Mint Julep?