When it comes to the classic mint julep cocktail, Canadians are among the most curious people in the world according to Google’s insights about internet searches. And our curiosity capital is Waterloo, Ont.

Google Trends reports that Canada is the third most popular place for searches for mint juleps, following the United States and Thailand.

Web searches for the cocktail tend to peak every May, around the time of the Kentucky Derby and National Mint Julep Day, which falls on May 30.

The mint julep is one of the oldest cocktails on the books, and its name instantly conjures up images of the U.S. South, of ladies in hats at the Derby, and slow sipping on porch swings.

The icy drink became the signature drink of the Kentucky Derby in 1938. Since then, each year, almost 120,000 mint juleps are served at Churchill Downs over the two-day horse racing event, using 453 kg of freshly harvested mint and 27,000 kg of ice.

For a drink with only a handful of ingredients -- bourbon, sugar and mint – it seems there are many ways to serve it.

According to the recipe used at Churchill Downs, the best julep begins with simple syrup made by boiling equal parts sugar and water, then cooling and refrigerating the syrup in a container with fresh mint.

Each cocktail is then made with 2 ounces of bourbon and a tablespoon of mint syrup, poured over crushed ice into a silver julep cup.

Other recipes call for a quicker version made with a packet of sugar and muddled mint leaves, or for fizzing things up with club soda. Still others call for replacing the bourbon with cognac, or adding a dash of bitters, peaches, ginger or strawberries.

Since every bartender and mint julep lover has their own version, there are more than 50,000 videos on YouTube with ‘Mint Julep’ in the title.