This flavor is everything I want to have forever.

frozen peach and vanilla mint juleps I howsweeteats.com

Next weekend, you can enjoy the most exciting 120 seconds of May with one of these bourbon babies in hand. I cannot wait!

Eddie also obviously can’t wait, but he will pass on the bourbon. Whomp whomp. Too many bad nights in college and he’s like, nope!

frozen peach and vanilla mint juleps I howsweeteats.com

Last year, I made fresh watermelon mint juleps BEFORE the derby. But on derby day, I made a version of the fresh exchange’s peach mint juleps, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them ever since! Their version used the peach preserves from American Spoon which has probably been one of my entire family’s favorite flavors for, oh, I don’t know… twenty years?! So they were a huge hit.

I knew that I wanted to incorporate frozen peach slices into the mix – not in a puree and not in a major flavor way, but as part of the “ice” so the peach flavor gradually melted into the drink and you got just a slight hint of it.

Result: PERFECTION.

Also, I really liked having the peach slices to munch on with the cocktail.

frozen peach and vanilla mint juleps I howsweeteats.com

Frozen peaches also won out because we aren’t even CLOSE to good peach season in this area. The ones I find at the grocery store are as hard as a rock and basically never ripen. It will probably be months before I get a good one, so frozen peaches are the answer! I prefer them over canned too. Just to be real.

frozen peach and vanilla mint juleps I howsweeteats.com

The vanilla? Well gosh, do I ever NOT want something to be vanilla-flavored? I soaked a few cut vanilla beans in my bourbon for only 60 minutes here, but back in the fall, I made infused bourbons and that is where I took the inspiration from. If I were you, I’d throw some cut vanilla beans into your bourbon TODAY so that in another nine days, the flavor will be extra vanilla-y.

AND. Vanilla simple syrup. Just to be as vanilla as possible. Yesssss.

Oh oh oh and just in case you want some other mint julep inspo, I’ve made:

Blueberry mint juleps!

Pineapple mint juleps.

Mint julep FRUIT SALAD. With homemade marshmallow. Naturally.

Your day is set.

frozen peach and vanilla mint juleps I howsweeteats.com

Frozen Peach and Vanilla Mint Juleps

5 from 3 votes
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Ingredients

vanilla mint simple syrup

Instructions 

  • Combine bourbon and vanilla syrup together and shake or stir well. Pour over a mix of frozen peach slices and crushed iced, top with club soda and serve with extra mint leaves. Garnish with a few more peach slices. Drink up!

vanilla bean syrup

  • Combine the sugar, water, scraped vanilla beans, mint and whole bean in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool completely before stirring in the extract and storing in a jar. Remove the mint. I usually don’t remove the vanilla pod and just leave it in for flavor!
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frozen peach and vanilla mint juleps I howsweeteats.com

Half of this drink is all about the cute cups. Right?