Do I really need to break down where the inspiration for this cocktail came from? Fine, okay, I was eating Thin Mint cookies while drinking bourbon. Oh, like you haven't.

Anyway, this is a drink recipe that practically writes itself. After all, if my cocktail math is right:

• Mint + bourbon = mint julep = yum
• Mint + chocolate = Thin Mint cookie = yum
• Chocolate + bourbon = just plain old yum

So, applying the law of conservation or whatever, that's, like, yum cubed. I may be wrong on that, since they didn't teach cocktail math in my high school, which is just one more reason why I don't need to relive those years.

My first attempt at building this recipe involved making my own chocolate liqueur, made with a mint-infused simple syrup, and muddling mint leaves in the glass. The end result was fine, if rather ... subtle. But sometimes subtle is highly overrated. I mean, this is a cocktail modeled after a Girl Scout cookie, fercryinoutloud. Do you think they sell hundreds of thousands of boxes of cookies with subliminal advertising and gentle hints? No, they cast their doe eyes on you and beat you over the head with their cuteness. Subtle ain't exactly the name of the game.

I knew this much; I wanted the drink to have a rich chocolate base and a clean peppermint high note. Casting artisanal ingredients and techniques out the window, I went straight for the peppermint schnapps -- which our local booze store doesn't even stock, it's so lowbrow. I also invested in some crème de cacao, but opted for the good stuff since that's something that might actually have an application in a future drink. (For the record, as far as I can tell, there is no "good stuff" when it comes to peppermint hooch.) Et voilà -- one of America's favorite cookies in cocktail form. Bottoms up!

Thin Mint Julep

3/4 oz peppermint schnapps, plus extra
3/4 oz dark crème de cacao, plus extra
3 oz bourbon
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 Tbsp fine sugar
Mint sprig

Sift together sugar and cocoa powder into a shallow dish. In another dish, pour a splash each of peppermint schnapps and crème de cacao; stir to mix. Dip the rims of your cocktail glasses in the schnapps-cacao mixture, then into the cocoa-sugar mixture. Let stand for a minute to set.

Alternative: If you actually have Thin Mint cookies and are a glutton for punishment, cut away the chocolate exterior, and crush the cookie part to a fine dust with a mortar and pestle, then rim the glasses with that.

Fill a shaker with ice; add the crème de cacao, peppermint schnapps and bourbon. Stir well, and strain into the rimmed cocktail glass. Add mint sprig for garnish.