Normally, we’d be too distracted by Cinco de Mayo margaritas to worry about Derby Day cocktails on Saturday. But after watching Thank You For Smoking last weekend, we can’t stop thinking about how lovely and refreshing a mint julep would be, especially when served in a frosted silver-plated cup (like one of these from Plum Party, $70 for set of four). In the film, Robert Duvall plays “The Captain,” the curmudgeonly patron of a tobacco company who is constantly sipping a julep. We did a little investigating and found that there are few ways to approach making this classic Southern cocktail. Martha Stewart says to simply crush mint, sugar and lemon juice in a pitcher with a wooden spoon. Add crushed ice and bourbon and serve. The official Kentucky Derby site recommends you make a simple syrup first, by boiling sugar and water for five minutes on the stove, and then placing it in a container overnight with mint. The next day, make one julep at a time, by stirring a tablespoon of mint syrup over crushed ice, and then pouring on the bourbon. At Esquire.com, we learned even more tips; like that you should use only the smallest mint leaves, because they’re the sweetest and freshest. Needless to say, if you don’t hear from us over the weekend, it will be because we’re diligently testing out all these theories.