Mint Juleps

First a recommendation- I only serve my juleps with Woodford Reserve. I came across it at a bourbon tasting and fell in love, and since then have seen it umpteen times used in varying recipes in Southern Living mag. It's VERY smooth. I have my own style of preparing this. I pack around 1 cup of fresh mint leaves in to a clean glass jar and bruise the leaves by smushing them up against the sides of the jar with a wooden spoon. After the sugar syrup is cooked I pour it in to the jar, smuch some more but not hard enough to create too many bits of leaf debris, close the lid, cool on the counter then chill in the fridge overnight (in a pinch I've given it an ice bath!). When chilled I drain the mixture through cheesecloth, remove the leaves and either pour it back in to the glass jar or in to a condiment style squeeze bottle. I get tremendous reviews making it this way and serving it with the Woodford and even non-bourbon drinkers enjoy it. Lastly- TRY MAKING THIS WITH BASIL instead of mint! I saw a recipe for it in SL and my f=husband and friends practically BEG me for it all year long! I use fresh basil straight from the garden and otherwise make it the exact same way. It's not as sweet and is incredibly refreshing! I've also recently had a Lemongrass julep (same deal, just use lemongrass instead of basil or mint) and a mint-ginger julep. The ginger gave a nice kick.