Non-alchocolic Mint Julep Recipe

We had an amazing trip over the summer. While on the trip we were able to go to Disneyland. This was my children's first trip there. It was so amazing to see the excitement in their eyes. It was great!

The Sword in the Stone is one of my husband's favorite Disney movies, so I knew we had to get a kid pic to send to him since he couldn't go with us. 

While there, we were able to have a variety of great food. One day we decided to eat in New Orleans square. My younger brother decided to be daring and try this drink called a Mint Julep, and I'm so glad he did. It was so good we all enjoyed. When we got back to my mom's house in Las Vegas we decided to figure out to make it. We found this recipe. We got all the ingredients except the creme de menthe syrup. We could not find it anywhere. My mom and I, the complete non-alchocolic drinkers we are decided to try to track it down in a liquor store since that is where is suggests to find it. We went to 3 different stores over about a week asking for it and no one had it. This is Vegas people! If we can't find it in Vegas, where in the world could you possibly find it? Finally at the last place we tried the salesperson suggested we try Whole Foods. Unfortunately, we still didn't find creme de menthe, but we did find a previous bartender who worked there. She knew exactly what to do to make the stuff. As she begin explaining, she suggested looking for this liquid called Mint Infused Simple Syrup. Low and behold, they actually had that. 

On one of the few remaining days we had in Vegas, we finally had a way to make it. We had to tweet the original recipe and this is what we ended up with: Still so yummy even if it is not the exact same as the one we had at Disneyland.

Revised Mint Julep (non-alchocolic) 

3/4 Cup Mint Infused Simple Syrup

1 1/4 oz lime juice concentrate

8 1/2 oz lemonade concentrate

5-8 cups of chilled water

1/2 .75 oz (21.3 g) of finely chopped mint leaves

Mix simple syrup, lime juice, and lemonade concentrate together. This makes 2 cups of syrup. Add 5-8 cups of chilled water to the syrup.* Lastly, add the mint leaves.** Serve over crushed ice.

Possible garnishes: Cherry, Lime slice, Lemon slice, Mint leaves

* If you like your drinks to have strong flavors add 5 cups of water, if you like your drinks a little diluted add 7 or 8 cups of water. If you aren't sure, start with 5 cups. You can always add more if needed. 

** We just added the mint leaves directly to the drink. It made the mint taste stronger which we liked. However, if you don't feel like drinking the chopped mint leaves, you could add whole mint leaves in the drink and take them out before you drink it. 

Now that we have arrived back home, I am finding it near impossible to find Mint Infused Simple Syrup. Looks like I'll have to hit up the liquor stores near me! (Anyone who knows me knows how ridiculous this phrase sounds coming from me as I know nothing of alcohol. =) )