By the mid-19th Century, the julep had become, at least in some circles, a fussy, ritualistic extravaganza with white glove associations. Meanwhile, the American style of mixed drinks was expanding and popularizing across the economic spectrum. With the latter came disciplines, equipment, and technique, such as shaking and straining, or stirring and straining, that were employed for assembling myriad single serving drinks quickly. The Smash is the julep adapted to a more efficient bar service: shake the ingredients briefly with ice, pour it into a small bar glass, garnish, done. Simple syrup is probably better here than plain sugar. You don’t want to overshake, because you don’t really want the mint to disintegrate in the shaker.

Barware icons courtesy of Haus Alpenz