The Mint Julep

If you’re planning on watching the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, the first Saturday of May, make sure you pick up a bottle of Kentucky bourbon and some fresh mint to make your own mint juleps.

Mint Julep Recipe (makes 1 serving)

4 fresh mint sprigs

2 1/2 oz bourbon

1 tsp powdered sugar

2 tsp water

Muddle mint leaves, powdered sugar, and water in a collins glass. Fill the glass with shaved or crushed ice and add bourbon. Top with more ice and garnish with a mint sprig. Serve with a straw.
The mint julep is well-known as the traditional beverage of the Kentucky Derby, a position it has held since 1938. Each year almost 120,000 juleps are served at Churchill Downs over the two day period of the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby.
The mint julep originated in the southern United States, probably during the eighteenth century. U.S. Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky introduced the drink to Washington D.C., at the Round Robin Bar in the famous Willard Hotel during his residence in the city.
No matter where it came from or what brand of bourbon is used it is a refreshingly cool, outdoor summer beverage for spring at the race track but give someone you know whose not drinking your keys to keep you safe and your wallet to keep you from betting it all on that horse you just saw trot by because you liked the braided tail.