Pretty Southern

Tag: Mint Julep

  • Honeysuckle Gelato Savors Sweet Summertime

    Honeysuckle in the sunshine is ever so sweet. Now an Atlanta company has decided to take that decadent smell to the next level.

    There are two tastes Southern kids can always remember. One is the first time you picked honeysuckle then sipped the nectar from the flower. The second sensation is your favorite of ice cream in the summer time. Honeysuckle Gelato has combined both those loves into one outstanding product.

    Owner and founder Jackson Smith wrote “as a true southern boy, I could not resist the temptation to play around with the flavors and dessert concepts unique to the South. We now offer the South exactly what we envisioned…an ice cream worthy of its decadent culinary roots.”

    Flavors fit for ladies and gentleman (or even a Yankee palette) are available from Honeysuckle Gelato. Their Mint Julep is made with fresh herbs and the House selection of bourbon. It’s damn good as the real thing without the hangover from drinking straight liquor!

    An homage to The King, Elvis Presley, is uniquely awesome Kang. “We just wouldn’t be Southern (or inspired) without an ode to Mr. Presley’s indulgent creation,” wrote the gentlemen from Honeysuckle Gelato. “Ours features toasted banana ice cream with ribbons of peanut butter caramel. We’d add bacon, but the Feds would shut us down.”

    For a more classic taste, sample the savory refreshing Watermelon made with the real stuff as Honeysuckle Gelato doesn’t use any imitation flavors! The luscious Lavender would be ideal for a wedding or baby shower to serve alongside a piece of cake.

    Of course, Honeysuckle Gelato had to create a signature Honey flavor. The maestros whip up gelato using all kinds of local, seasonal honeys including Sourwood, Tupelo, Purple Starthistle, etc

    A full list of flavors and more information is available at www.honeysucklegelato.com. Don’t see a flavor you like? Then email the gentlemen behind the scenes to concoct your own custom creation. The boys will even be hitting the streets of Atlanta soon in their new food truck to serve up treats around the city.

    Brace yourself for some sweetness!

     

  • Pretty Southern Recipe: Mint Julep

    Pretty Southern Recipe: Mint Julep

    On a sunny day in the South, no cocktail tastes quite as sweet as a mint julep.

    For the perfect Southern mint julep, follow these instructions.

    mint julep

    Pretty Southern Mint Julep:

    2 oz. Kentucky Bourbon
    1 oz. Simple Syrup — made by boiling 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water, and allowing it to cool before mixing a cocktail
    3 Mint sprigs from a backyard garden
    1 oz. Soda Water
    Crushed Ice

    Muddle your mint in crushed ice, though if going for aesthetics be sure to set aside a sprig for garnish. In a cocktail shaker, pour 2 oz. Bourbon, 1 oz. Simple Syrup, and 1 oz. Soda. Shake with chivalry then pour over minted ice.

    Thank the stars you’re alive on this fine day and drinking something delicious. Enjoy the races.

  • Dressing for Atlanta Steeplechase

    Dressing for Atlanta Steeplechase

    An archetypal Southern gentleman could be adorned in seersucker. He would drink mint juleps on the finest occasions.

    A gentleman has an inherent taste for the finer things in life. As was said of Scarlett O’Hara’s daddy Gerald, “There was no need for him to acquire a good head for whiskey. He had been born with one.”

    Garrett Cox has that same knowledge as a true Southerner. Mr. Cox was kind enough to share his photos from the 2011 Steeplechase at Kingston Downs. In this photo: Hat by Orvis, Sunglasses by Fly Fisherman, Bow Tie by Brooks Brothers, Kerchief by Jos A Banks, Shoes, socks, belt by Johnston Murphy, and Suit by George Saratsiotis — a tailor in the small town of Americus, GA. It’s this gentleman’s opinion that “seersucker suits should be purchased in small towns in the South.”

    There is nothing finer than a well-dressed gentleman in the springtime.

  • Defining a Modern Gentleman

    Defining a Modern Gentleman

    The definition of a gentleman in our modern times is debatable. Every person has their own perception of what a gentleman means. Common terms are polite, chivalrous, loving, compassionate, and if the gentleman is a Disney prince, he has to be handsome.

    Charleston gentleman bow tie

    In “Gone With the Wind” Margaret Mitchell discusses the concept of a gentleman. She uses her bevvy of colorful characters to convey the various qualities of chivalry. Is Scarlett O’Hara’s first husband, Charles Hamilton, more of a gentleman because he died in the Civil War than Rhett Butler – the nefarious, swarthy rogue who captured Scarlett’s heart?

    Ultimately, Mitchell convey’s her definition of a gentleman through Scarlett’s Father, Gerald O’Hara:

    “A lack of the niceties of classical education carried no shame, provided a man was smart in the things that mattered. And raising good cotton, riding well, shooting straight, dancing lightly, squiring the ladies with elegance and carrying one’s liquor like a gentleman were the things that mattered.”

    Remember, guys and gals, about the virtues gentlemen of the Old South used to uphold. All it takes is having a green thumb, riding horses, accurately firing a gun which might’ve been acquired from stores like Guns Montreal, be a good dancer, an even better date, and always keeping cool at a party. Hope everyone has a day filled with gentility.