Rocktail # 5 – The Spring Standard Julep

Artist: The Spring Standards
Hails From: Brooklyn, NY

1: The one bottle of liquor that is on your rider at all times:
Jim Beam

2. The cocktail or spirit that best describes your personality:
whiskey on the rocks.

3. Favorite bar you discovered on tour:
We got caught in a blizzard in Wisconsin in February and had to pull into the first motel we saw. There was a bar next door and the motel attendant was also the bartender. We were the only people in there but we played pool and rocked the old school jukebox (it had real vinyls) until 2am!

4. Most tragic or triumphant inebriated moment on stage. Spill it!
Totally triumphant – Smith crowd surfing during Ha Ha Tonka’s set in Cleveland. Watch here starting at 5:25

5. Raw eggs in cocktails: Gross or Glorious?
So gross.

6. Best late night grub hub after a night of drinking:
Bereket on the LES! (NYC)

7. Your band’s drinking toast of choice (think “cheers” not “bread”):
usually something overly emotional that Heather gushes after a few too many.

8. Finish this sentence: Last time I took home a bar man or maid…
… she became my girlfriend!

9. Your favorite hometown watering hole:
Sycamore in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.

10. The song on your newest album best enjoyed with a boozy buzz:
“The Hush”.

Free Download: The Spring Standards - The Hush

Rocktail: The Spring Standard Julep

Description: The sun is shining, flowers are a bloom, and the Kentucky Derby has barely come and gone. That’s right y’all, it is the season for icy refreshing juleps and none better to serve up than The Spring Standard Julep! Kick back on the porch with one in hand and drop the needle onto “Would Things Be Different”, the newest album from the drink’s namesake band, The Spring Standards (yes it’s available in vinyl). The Standards’ sound is as fresh as the mint that makes their namesake drink sing, and while the band may not be from Kentucky, this energetic force of three-part harmony circling over an indie rock sound with a bluegrass aftertaste feels just right paired with this variation on a southern classic.

Recipe:

2 1/4 oz Maker’s Mark Bourbon
3/4 oz Marie Brizard Apry
1/2 oz simple syrup
8 mint leaves
1 dash of Brooklyn Hemispherical Meyer Lemon Bitters

Glass: Julep Cup or Rocks glass.

Preparation:

This drink calls for crushed ice. If you can’t obtain any from a machine, an easy crushing method is to place ice cubes in plastic bag, cover with a towel, and then hit with a meat tenderizer or blunt side of a hammer until crushed to small pieces.
Gently muddle mint leaves along with the simple syrup inside the serving glass. Drag the mint around to coat the entire inside of the glass. Do not crush the mint or over muddle as it will make the drink bitter.
Discard the muddled mint. It is a sacrifice.
Add Apry and a dash of the meyer lemon bitters.
Fill glass with crushed ice to the glass so it forms a slight mound shape higher than the rim.
Slowly pour the Bourbon over the top in a circular motion (as if you were adding syrup to a sno-cone)
finish with more crushed ice on top if need be.
Garnish with springs of mint (slapped in hand before applying to glass to release oils).
Serve with a straw (you can buy great metal straws at Little Branch in New York!)
This drink needs no stirring. Enjoy!