Mint Boxes - A Steamboat Tradition ?

Ted & steamboating colleagues:
Glad you revived the discussion of the famed 'mint boxes' on the stern of the DELTA QUEEN. There are others here who can nail down the exact dates when that was in vogue. Shipyard Sam, Bob Reynolds etc. etc. Judy may have some photos of those mint boxes in her collection. I remember them well from the 'get go.' Who it got started I can't personally recall but know that for a time Betty Blake milked a lot of publicity for the boat in the media. It was a keen idea to keep the bars on the boat supplied with much-needed mint in place of bottled extract. I don't know about the 'happy tobacckie' [s.i.c.] being grown in them just above the rolling wheel. I think that was another of those 'urban' or 'river' legends that added interest and spice for a good story. Toward the end the boxes began to disintegrate due to the constant mist from the wheel and finally split and fell apart. I think they were wood with, possibly, a metal liner. [?]

I have a suspiction one of the major factors against using the mint from them was U.S. Public Health concerns over E-coli and other nasty things from the river misting down on the little green mint leaves and then being ingested in a drink if not washed/rinsed thoroughly. Perhaps the resident 'mint attendant' retired or left the boat. Who else out there can confirm or deny my foggy memories. I never did like mint juleps.

Cheers,
R. Dale Flick

Steamboat Mint Julips have 2 factors going for them.

When the boxes were on the boat, the spray from the paddlewheel provided perfect humidity to raise mint. Just because it also provides great humidity for other stuff, well that is another matter.

However, this Yankee learned to fix the best mint julips and steam takes a role there too. Even though many would take short cuts and fix simple syrup ahead of time, the key to a great mint julip was the muddle at the beginning of the drink. The bottom of the glass needs sweetener (powdered sugar is prefered but granular sugar and even substitute sweeteners like Splenda or Sweet 'n Lo will also do- then add some mint leaves and really a tablespoon or two of very hot water (steamboats have very hot water). The hot water is releasing the juices of the mint leaves and mixing them with the sweet so the drink base is sweetened mint water. Muddle it. Then pack the glass with ice and add the bourbon of choice and a splash of branch (water) whether plain or sparkling. Garnish with a mint leaf.

I served a really great one on the American Queen in a big brandy snifter with 6 straws for a group of little old ladies at the bar. I don't remember how much I charged but it was fair and the ladies loved it.

Also great mint julips are basically the same as Mojitas except Mojitas use rum rather than bourbon.

Now, Dale, I also don't like mint julips or mojitas (too sweet for me) but I do enjoy making them because they are drinks that bring a grin even before the taste.

As for the mist containing e-coli or other nasty stuff from the river- well, that could have just as easily come from the grocery store too or the plastic bags that mint is stored in. Personally, the way I store mint and basil and other green leafy stuff from my garden is rinse it, wrap in paper towels and stick the wrapped package in a zip lock bag and into the freezer. It gets delicate or fragile when you take it out but tastes remarkably fresh.

On the boats, we always ran out of mint- always always always- because if one person did taste that famous custom made and carefully done drink, they sold like crazy. That would lead to short cuts and a drink that was not quite as tasty but there ya go.

As for FDA rules- that is true but also why a licensed bartender really can't serve you from a bottle that you choose to bring onboard or would buy and then the bottle would be outside the sight and control of the bartender that sold it. I know it was common practise at one time but I could lose my license to serve (not that anyone really cared or it was strongly enforced) if I served you something that did turn out to be poison.

Cheers- its too early- I need a bloody mary, screwdriver, or salty dog with a leatherback saddle.
Elaine

Spray of the Old Paddlewheel

Just crawled out from beneath the bottom of YWB 1041, down here on the ways at the Rabbit Hash Shipyard, Tennesse River Division, and "Yes" to all of the above questions. The mint boxes were on paddlewheel braces on both sides when I started workiing on the DELTA QUEEN in 1965, but they were removed and never replaced when were were in Avondale Shipyard during the big 1971 makeover after the QUEEN received her lifesaving exemption from the SAS Law.

Big Cap personally attended the mint boxes, while the rest of us labored in the wheel. And there was a "stray" plant growing in there from time to time, but I doubt if any ever reached harvest size, as the Skipper would have plucked those foreign-looking boogers out of his mint crop. Though I doubt if he knew the true identity of the strange growth; they weren't mint, so out they went, much to the dismay of some of the boys watching from the bucketboard grandstand.

It's a wonder the mint boxes haven't been rebuilt with all the interest they generated and the novelty surely caught the public's fantasy as well as who-knows-how-many stories in print focused, or mentioned, the mint that grew in the spray of the great red paddle of the DELTA QUEEN.

Sam, when I cruised the DQ the first time in 1981 the mint boxes WERE ON THE DQ!!!! I believe they were on for some time after that. Val P.S. It was also rumored that "wacky weed" grew in them too!

I'm shocked!! you mean there was stuff being used on the boats that wasn't suppose to be there? If anyone is interested I'd be happy to tell a private story about why there are 6 eyed cat fish at the Paducah Landing from the volume of items thrown over board at that location.

I thought the mint boxes were a idea of E.J. Quimbey. I am not sure exactly when they were put on, but I believe they predated Ernie Wagner by a year or two. Quimbey knew how to get publicity out anything from his calliope to his steamboat mint.
By the way Elaine.....the bar tender on the boat when I was on her, his last name was Davis, used Southern Comfort in place of simple syrup as the foundation of his julips. Try it some time, they are delicious, takes the bite out of the bourbon.

Southern Comfort would sweeten it for sure

There was also the story about why would someone ruin nice southern bourbon by adding mint? So those damn Yankees wouldn't like it- of course- and drink it all up.

Up there ins the far North, if you are ever called on to make a julip, try the Southern Comfort...it really is a winner. Every year at Derby I'm forced into making them because that secret ingredient makes the drink likeable even to you Yankees. But of course, we down here in ol' Kaintuck know the real secret is using a real sterling silver julip cup.

Ted Davisson;9563 wrote: Greetings From New Orleans ,
It has always been a question of mine concerning the Mint Boxes on Steamboats . On either side of the Str. Delta Queen's paddlewheel , Capt. Wagner kept and personally maintained the Mint Boxes . The Bartenders would occasionally harvest some of the mint for the bar and I assume for the Mint Julips ( a southern drink ) that some of you from the barren and frozen north may not be familiar with . The passengers always got a kick out of this tradition and of course the bartenders would play it up and advertise the drinks as a steamboat and mint concotion . My question is was this just something that Capt. Wagner came up with or was it a tradition carried on from other passenger steamboats as well ? Unfortunately , the Mint Boxes had to be closely inspected because it was rumored that someone in the deck department started planting mariguana in them . Imagine that !!
Smoothe Sailing !
Ted Davisson

I understand you are a long tenured river & sea captain, that being said, if your grammar and spelling reflected your resume, I think you'd be far more effective.

"smooth" for an example is not spelled with an "e" at the of it.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smooth
smooth
Pronunciation: \ˈsmüth\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English smothe, from Old English smōth; akin to Old Saxon smōthi smooth
Date: before 12th century
1 a (1): having a continuous even surface (2)of a curve : being the representation of a function with a continuous first derivative (3): having or being a short even coat of hair — compare rough, wirehaired b: being without hair c: glabrous d: causing no resistance to sliding
2: free from difficulties or impediments
3: even and uninterrupted in flow or flight
4: excessively and often artfully suave : ingratiating
5 a: serene, equable b: amiable, courteous
6 a: not sharp or harsh b: free from lumps
synonyms see level, easy, suave
— smooth adverb
— smooth·ly adverb
— smooth·ness noun

Hey JC, there's "Smooth Sailing" and "Smoothe Sailing." I believe the latter requires a couple of Large Mint Julips! (Although out here in Californy, it might be the addition of a few fruit & Ice drink concotions!) 🙂
Steamcerely,
David D.

Steamboating colleagues:
'Smooth vs. Smoothe' isn't the issue in lexicon: 'Ancient language, special vocabulary, as of an author etc.' At my age I've seen it used both ways--here and in my time in England. The thesis here is that the famed 'Mint Julep' has far more distant, historic roots than suspected. Jim Reising is right in that the only way to properly serve one historically--and in the true deep south--is in a sterling silver tumbler so made for the purpose. They are immediately identified upon seeing. No doubt in earlier times pewter would serve. Glass or crystal is accepted today for bar service or home use. Earliest references to the famed drink appeared here in America on/around 1803 in Virginia but with traditions going back beyond that. The Arabs long ago mixed up a 'julab' made with water and oil from rose petals.

The Kentucky Derby hit it big with Mint Juleps on/around 1938 being sold at the races for the then heady price of 75 cents. That was no small amount of money back then. The Churchill Downs museum displays a collection of Mint Julep glasses going all the way back. I've a number here along with giving many away to collectors. Again, I've not always been that fond of the drink. It's the southern history and tradition that matters. Not much different that the many different brewings of German beers or the collections of fine drinking steins there and here.

Some accounts from England trace the 'Julep' to the time of Charles I and II. The poet Milton commented on it in his 'Comus':

"Behold the cordial 'julep' here
Which flames and dances in it crystal bounds [Reference to crushed ice]
With spirits of balm and fragrant syrups mixed...
Is of such power to stir up joy like this,
To life so friendly, or so cool to thirst."

An 1838 account states this for a cool, refreshing drink:
"Put into a tumbler about a dozen springs of the tender shoots of mint, upon them put a spoonful of white sugar, and equal proportions of peach and common brandy, so as to fill it up one third, or perhaps a little less. Then take rasped or pounded ice, and fill up the tumbler. Epicures rub the lips of the tumbler with a piece of fresh pine-apple, and the tumbler itself is very often incrusted outside with stalactites of ice. As the ice melts--you drink." The old recipe here handed down in the family ends with, "If that don't mean Mint-Juleps, I don't know the English language."

Pure ice on land, steamboats and steamships was then a pricey commodity affored by the well-to-do until refrigeration and deep freezing was perfected. Until just before World War I leading hotels, restaurants, steamboat/steamships prided themselves on offering pure 'glacial ice' brought from Geenland or the north pole. It was offered at New York's Waldor Astoria and the Roof Garden at the old Madison Square Gardens. The old WHITE STAR LINE/CUNARD LINE back then offered 'glacial ice.'

Cheers,
R. Dale Flick

JC Petersen;9600 wrote: I understand you are a long tenured river & sea captain, that being said, if your grammar and spelling reflected your resume, I think you'd be far more effective.

"smooth" for an example is not spelled with an "e" at the of it.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smooth
smooth
Pronunciation: \ˈsmüth\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English smothe, from Old English smōth; akin to Old Saxon smōthi smooth
Date: before 12th century
1 a (1): having a continuous even surface (2)of a curve : being the representation of a function with a continuous first derivative (3): having or being a short even coat of hair — compare rough, wirehaired b: being without hair c: glabrous d: causing no resistance to sliding
2: free from difficulties or impediments
3: even and uninterrupted in flow or flight
4: excessively and often artfully suave : ingratiating
5 a: serene, equable b: amiable, courteous
6 a: not sharp or harsh b: free from lumps
synonyms see level, easy, suave
— smooth adverb
— smooth·ly adverb
— smooth·ness noun

Henry Watterson's famous mint julep recipe (paraphrased):
Pluck the mint from its bed in the dew of the morning, being careful to avoid crushing the stems;
Using a chilled glass and a glass stirring rod, crush the leaves of the mind against the side of the chilled glass;
Make a syrup of spring water and sugar and place in glass;
Fill the glass with crushed ice and insert a sprig of the dewy mint;
Throw away the entire mess, fill the glass with aged Kentucky Bourbon, and drink.

Captain Baxter, of the sternwheel dredge Ste. Genevieve, long kept full vegetable gardens on each side of the pilothouse.

That was a very smooth story that smoothed my mind for sailing on down the river.

Actually the whole thing is too funny because now I am confused whether we are dealing with southern ladies in big hats, stuffy patrons of British pubs, or salty sea captains : )

Cheers

Frank X. Prudent;9603 wrote: Once I read in the paper, and saw on the national news, how a quick witted NOBRA pilot saved countless lives and dollars by his quick thinking when the Chinese ship he was piloting lost her steering. Unless there is some inside joke to your posting that the gentle reader is not privy to, I would like to suggest that the above pedantry is not particularly appreciated by many readers of this forum.

Many fear their reputation, few their conscience!

May my lashes be few, yet the suffering long.

I will say that I'm not a fan of sweet drinks. Most Mint Julips that I've had have been gag issues, most way too sweet, a very few times to bourbon-y, except for two times. Now it may have been the surrounding atmosphere and all, but the first time I really enjoyed a Julip was one of the ones sold at Oak Alley, and I'm thinking the deliciousness of it all had to do with me sucking down bourbon at 9:30 in the morning. Ah, the naughtiness, the decadence...

The second and best time, was a Julip made for me by Elaine on the DQ in the Texas, wonderful...you know, it was sooo good, and I guess I'm spoiled, as I keep trying Julips, and so far after the initial E.S. Julip, they all have been a disappointment...

I think they, the company, ought to bring the mint boxes back, how cool would that be, in a schmaltzy, steamboaty kind of way...but then again I wish they would bring kite flying, the PSSOA pins, and the Steamboat races back, too...

val is correct. The mint boxes were present in 1980, although by then, nothing edible was being grown in them.

Aw thanks Bruno- see a Yankee can fix a mint julip : )

Although I have to agree- too sweet. But I also agree about the mint boxes, kite flying, floozie contests, steamboat races. . .gee whiz. . .I even think the sing alongs are great and I can't carry a tune in my pocket much less sing or play anything other than a kazoo.

However, I should mention that last summer I was making a lot of peppermint iced tea lemonade. It was very refreshing and if I was on the boats, I would be adding it to my lemonade collection of drinks. While I liked the beer wagon, I also enjoyed doing a lemonade wagon----another silly idea but fun and actually profitable.