— Pick a mint. There are many varieties to choose from, and we grow a lot of them in our Holly Hill Inn gardens, but our favorite is a wild transplant from David Wagoner’s Three Springs Farm. If you don’t have a patch of your own, pick some up at your local grocery or greenhouse. Kentucky Colonel mint is an easy-to-find one that was specially developed for mint juleps.

— Crushed or shaved ice. It’s important to get your hands on some finely crushed or shaved ice to get that nice frosted coating on whatever you decide to serve your julep in.

— If you’re a thrifter, look for an antique ice scraper or shaver. We pid a few dollars for a fearsome-looking cast aluminum one, and got a chance to use it when Matthew Stoddart of Lexington Ice Sculptures cut a 20”x30” block of ice for us. We were soon taking turns making miniature ice storms.

— We’re also huge fans of canvas Lewis bags and wooden mallets, and it’s so, so satisfying to whack away at a bag or two of ice cubes. It goes surprisingly fast and you’ll have enough to fill an ice bucket in no time.

— Back to the mint and making a julep: have your glass, mint, ice and bourbon ready to go, along with whatever sweetening agent you prefer. We recently decided our favorite is a combination of powdered sugar and mint simple syrup.