Mint
Mentha spicata
“The loudest fresh thing in the garden, and proud of it.”
The Mediterranean basin; now everywhere, including places you didn't plant it
The Monograph
Mint does not need your help. It spreads, it survives, it comes back after winters that killed everything else in the bed. Every cuisine with sunshine has a mint drink — from Moroccan tea to the julep — because mint plus cold plus sweet is one of the oldest good ideas humans have had.
Cool, sweet, green — that menthol lift is literally a cold sensation, not a temperature, which is why mint drinks feel colder than they are. In the glass, fresh leaves beat any extract by a mile and it isn't close.
Counter Notes
How to Pour It
Clap, don't shred
Torn mint bruises and turns bitter. A slap between the palms wakes it up gently.
Fresh mint (or a pot of it)Grow it in a pot
In the ground it will annex territory. In a pot it's the most generous plant you own.
Herb planter pot
The Weekly Pour